Bloody Kisses
by Lazeralk
Summary: Kenshin and Saitou are lured into a devious trap when a vampire targets the Battousai and wolf for his kiss.
1. The Trap

This fic was inspired by the Phantom of the Opera. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Phantom of the Opera, but the story came to me while I was listening to the song so I figured I might as well write it down.

Bloody Kisses

By: Lazeralk

Rurouni Kenshin flavored mildly with Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter

Part 1

"The Trap"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sanosuke Sagara was feelin' pretty good. Drunk, penniless, but pretty good. He was ambling along, minding his own business like a good drunk gambler who doesn't do dastardly things like disrupt the good people of Tokyo. Ri-ight.

Something flickered in his unfocused brown eyes and he stopped. He, being a heap big street thug, had detected a presence through his hazy senses. He turned around just in time to watch the shadow descend on him with a goofy smile before he became dead to the world.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Soft humming filled the air accompanied by the sound of soapy water being sloshed around in a big bucket. Kenshin smiled happily as he scrubbed away at the laundry, the cheer in the warm autumn air lifting his spirits. Peachy. The sun was setting, and a beautiful array of colors painted the sky, signaling the end of afternoon practice.

The flares of bright blue ki, Kaoru's, and the splotch of red, Yahiko's, were moving towards him. He looked up as they rounded the corner and came into view. Her training gi was soaked with sweat and she looked rather happy. Yahiko trailed after her, a tired but satisfied smile on his face. Everyone was happy. Some story.

"It appears you've had a fine workout, you have." Said Kenshin, smiling up at them, his hands never faltering in their task.

"Yeah! I feel like I could take on Sano now!" Said Yahiko, lifting his shinai into the air.

Ah, Sano, whatever happened to Sano anyway? Not that we particularly care right this instant…buuut…

"Where is Sano? I haven't seen him all week." Said Kaoru.

"Yeah, he hasn't been at the Akabeko in what, five days? How long can you go with out food before you starve to death?" Asked Yahiko.

"Hmm, perhaps he's staying a while with Tsukiyama-san." Suggested Kenshin, even as he cast his senses outward, searching for his friend. A flash of gold ki flared in response to his as he reached further into the city. Saitou was moving away from them. He pushed as far as he could manage, going absolutely still, focusing everything he had into that one effort. No Sano. Naw really, could'a guessed that one.

"I don't think so, he would have said _something_. Sano may be a pretty lousy guy but he's nothing if not loyal. He's a good friend. He would have told us if he were going somewhere."

"Maybe he got kidnapped!" Exclaimed Yahiko. Now there's an idea.

"Naw. Why would anyone want _Sano_?" asked Kaoru.

"Yeah…" Said Yahiko, his brilliance spent for the day.

"I can't find him." Said Kenshin, growing serious as he completed a second mental search.

"He's not in the city. I can't find him anywhere." He continued, concern showing in his voice.

"Is that bad?"

"Very. Something's wrong. Let's go ask around." Kenshin stood, bringing the piece of cloth he'd been diligently washing up with him. He wrung it out and hung it up so it wouldn't rust in the water. Sensible, responsible, dutiful Kenshin. I want one for my house.

Kaoru's eyes narrowed, Kenshin was talking in clipped sentences. Something really was wrong. No really, ya think? These guys can't go more than a week with out getting into trouble.

"Let's go." Said Yahiko.

Kenshin nodded absently as his feet carried him out the door, his two companions trailing after him, flanking him like bodyguards. He extended his senses again, seeking Saitou. He brushed the slightly electric energy and tugged on it.

"Kenshin, we're here."

The voice snapped him out of his trance, drowning out the policeman's annoyed response. Brain IM, cool huh?

They were standing in front of Sano's apartment in the Ruffian Row. Kenshin swept it with his senses and knew the place was empty before he threw the door open. Nada.

Kenshin let the others see into the small room before he closed the door and went to find the apartment of one Katsuhiko Tsukiyama. Katsu for short. Cute.

Another sweep revealed only one presence.

Kenshin knocked. Very polite.

The door slid open, and Katsu stepped out into the falling dusk.

"Himura-san. What brings you to the Ruffian Row?" Asked Katsu, eyeing the swordsman warily. He still didn't trust the Battousai after the failed bombing incident. Hey, I wouldn't trust him either if he beat the crap out of my best friend.

"Sano's missing." Said Kaoru, noticing the tension and stepping between them.

"Missing? How long?" Asked Katsu, always pleased to talk to a pretty girl.

"Five days. You haven't seen him have you?" Replied Kaoru, worry seeping into her voice.

"No, I haven't. You might want to try the gambling joints, they may have heard from him." Said Katsu with a frown. "Maybe he drank too much and got lost."

"He's not in the city, at least not from what I can tell." Said Kenshin.

"Have you tried the police? Maybe he got arrested."

"Not yet." Said Kaoru.

"We'll try them after we check out the gambling joints. Thank you Tsukiyama-san."

There was much bowing, empty, but polite, invites to drop by anytime and the gang was underway once more, no closer to finding Sano than they had been when they left. Figures.

The gambling joints were devoid of Sano, they searched every one, but no one had heard from him or seen him in the last week. His usual gambling buddies were clueless. Of course that could have been the sake talking.

A trip to the police station revealed that 'Inspector Fujita' was out making his evening rounds. He'd be back in about five minutes, so to please go into his office and wait for him. Police secretaries are very helpful when you're the Hitokiri Battousai, he didn't even complain about the sword. Brownie point for him.

Five minutes later, 'Inspector Fujita' walked in and scowled at the invasion of his office.

"What do _you_ want? You've been annoying me all day Battousai, this better be good." He growled, sinking into his chair with boneless grace. He pulled out a cigarette and lit up, still glaring at the room's other occupants.

"Sano's been missing for five days. He's not in the city. Is their any reason connected to the police that would make him want to skip town without informing anyone?" Said Kenshin, his voice lowering an octave.

"You came to me about _that _moron? Really Battousai."

"Is there?"

"Not that I can think of. Tori-atama hasn't done anything that would merit that kind of behavior."

"I still think he was kidnapped." Grumbled Yahiko.

"Why would anyone want that idiot?" Scoffed Saitou. Why indeed.

"You got a better explanation?" Challenged Yahiko.

Whatever snide comment Saitou was about to make, and believe me snide it most certainly was, was abruptly cut off when the door to his office opened and a slightly beaten up Sano wandered in.

Ah, the glorious and slightly mysterious return of the conquering hero. Right. Hero, my ass.

"Sano! Are you ok?"

"Where the heck have you been?"

"What happened to you?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Oi! Shut up!"

Stunned silence.

"Case solved. Go away."

"Aw, but Saitou, you're just the man I wanted to see."

More stunned silence.

"Um…Sano…Is there something you want to tell us?"

"Huh? Whatda'ya mean?"

"Um…are you...uh, that is…you and Saitou…"

"What! God no! Hell no! Jo-chan! What the fuck!"

Umm-hmm. Ok, moving on…

"Where have you been Sano?" asked Kenshin pleasantly.

"Kenshin! Good. I need to talk to you." Sano said, pulling Kenshin out of the room. He dragged the red head down an empty corridor and leaned in to whisper to him.

"I found something really freaky. This old house just popped up out of thin air outside the Ruffian Row. I've been stakin' the place out for the last week. There's some seriously freaky shit goin' on." He said. Tilting his head to the side.

Kenshin's eyes flicked to the bandages tied snuggly around Sano's neck. He took a moment to realize the though the wrappings blended easily with his usual outfit, they were out of place. Sano didn't usually wrap his neck, his hands, feet and abs, yes, his neck, no. He also noted that his gi was a little blood stained. Nothing new there, but it looked like he'd had a bloody nose or something, even the bandages abound his stomach were flecked with blood.

"Battousai!" called Saitou. "I need to see you in my office a moment please."

Maybe it was the please, maybe it was the way Saitou's aura flicked with his tenseness. Something had thrown Mibu's wolf into 'on guard' mode. Not good.

"Of course inspector." Replied Kenshin.

"We'll check it out later ok Sano?" whispered Kenshin as he moved to pass his friend.

"Cool." Said the pleased ex-Sekihoutai, arranging himself lazily in a chair out side the office with Kaoru and Yahiko. Apparently they'd been kicked out. I guess Saitou doesn't like them very much.

Kenshin walked through the open door and shut it behind him. He moved closer to the ex-Shinsengumi and favored him with a quizzical stare.

"You're up tight Saitou, what's bothering you?" he whispered into the other man's abdomen. Poor Kenshin, he's so short.

"Sano's dead."

"What?" hissed Kenshin, barely remembering to keep his voice down.

"He reeks of death, Battousai. I don't know how or why or where or who, but I do know that there is no life in him." Whispered the wolf back.

"I may have a where, Saitou. Will you be willing to come with us when we check it out tonight? Unnoticed of course?" asked Kenshin, his eyes growing cold.

"Yes, most definitely. If whatever killed the moron and made him walk and talk again can do it again, we have a serious problem."

"Yeah, I'll send a letter to Kyoto and ask the Oniwaban to come for a visit. Sano's not the toughest fighter around, but he's no pushover either. What ever did this to him, had to fight him and win without really damaging him all that much. Then there's the matter of making his get right back up again after he died and go about life as if nothing happened. If it can happen again, we may have a very serious problem indeed."

0o0o0o0o0o0

End part 1


	2. The Catch

Bloody Kisses

By: Lazeralk

Standard disclaimers apply.

Part 2

"The Catch"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sano was gone. He'd disappeared when dawn had come, saying he was going back to his apartment to sleep. He told Kenshin to get some sleep and wait up for him at dusk, saying that the house was only active during the night. Kenshin had smiled and nodded and promised he would, all the while trying desperately to find a spark of life force in his friend. Sano had no ki, but there was power to him. Later that day he'd headed back to the police station to talk to Saitou.

"Saitou."

"Battousai."

"Sano said he went back to his apartment but he's not there. As soon as the sun came up he vanished again."

"Vanished? How?"

Kenshin sighed and leaned on the desk.

"He has no ki, a presence, but no ki. No life force. I can track his presence for a short distance but…" He shook his head, sending flame colored hair flying.

"He left the city again. Something's up."

"You think he may be leading us into a trap?" asked Saitou, interest showing for the first time in his voice.

"Normally, I'd have told you that's impossible. But now…Sano's different now. I don't trust him like I did anymore."

Saitou snorted.

"About time. I always said that moron wasn't good for anything."

"What ever changed him, I'm sure isn't his fault. Sano is usually the most trustworthy person I know."

Saitou snorted again.

"Whatever." Obviously he didn't agree. But he couldn't say he was more trustworthy, he was willing to betray anyone in the right circumstances.

"Did you send for Shinomori yet?" the wolf asked.

"Yes, I sent a letter this morning." Kenshin replied, a smile on his lips.

"Do you want to go to the house now, check it out before nightfall? You said the rooster claims that it's only active during the night." Saitou suggested.

Smart Saitou. The best way to take a critter bound to darkness is in broad daylight. Brownie points for Hajime.

Kenshin nodded, pushing himself away from the desk and turning to walk out the door with out a glance behind.

Saitou followed him out and they fell into companionable silence as they crossed the city, perhaps two of the most powerful warriors in Tokyo. Probably not. Guess which way I'm voting.

The waltzed into the Ruffian Row and all the doors were mysteriously closed, all the houses, deathly quiet. Gee, I wonder why?

They passed Katsu's house and Kenshin spared it a glance, but other than that they kept moving. They passed Sano's house and neither was surprised to find it empty. They walked towards the end, to the outskirts of the bad side of town.

The house loomed over them, dark and menacing. It was huge, ill kept, but still looked out of palace among the near dead trees and sick gray soil.

Kenshin let himself grow cold and still. His ki flickered as he drew it close to him, his body tense with anticipation. At his side he felt Saitou resist the urge to simply drop into stance and attack. The miasma hung thick and oppressive, filling the air like the coils of some great snake.

Saitou hissed, his nostrils flaring as if some horrid stench had caught them. Oo...creepy.

Kenshin glanced at him, and his partner shook his head, dismissing it. They moved as one, advancing on the door, not directly in front of it but rather, cutting across the land at an angle, both of them wary of air borne hazards.

Kenshin glanced at Saitou again and cocked his head to the side as if to say 'you want to, or should I?'

Saitou's eyes hardened into slits of amber and he drew his katana, dropping into his familiar gatotsu stance.

Saitou would take the door, Kenshin would cover.

The red head dropped into battoujutsu stance, hand hovering over the hilt of his weapon, poised to strike at any moment.

Saitou sucked in a breath and lunged forward, throwing his right hand back as he turned his body into the thrust. The poor door had no chance and died a sad and tragic death. Boo-hoo.

Kenshin was suddenly on the other side of his companion, glaring around him as he extended his senses, moved into a second stance and slid out of his dash from where he had criss-crossed the threshold.

Nothing moved. The silence was a heavy, weighted thing pressing down on them from all sides. The house was still, dead.

Saitou slid out of stance, weapon still clutched in his left hand, and moved towards the hall. Kenshin followed, moving backward; acting as rear guard. Hey, they _are_ professionals.

They moved with animal grace, silent and sure. Saitou was about halfway down the hall when his footstep made an awkward thumping noise. He stopped, Kenshin moving to his side, guarding from all directions as his partner pulled up the floorboards and revealed a trap door. Saitou carefully moved to the other side of the door, where both he and Kenshin could attack should anything come out of it upon opening. He grabbed the hatch with his right hand and moved to a crouched downward gatotsu, sword arm held high, blade pointed down. He threw the door open and began the downward stroke.

His blade hit air, fetid air that made Saitou step back with a hiss. The stench was awful, it curled around them, drowning them in the smell of long rotted corpses, dried blood and old death. They reeled back from the opening and glanced at one another. Neither wanted to go down there.

"That's the wrong door." Said a voice.

Both whirled on the spot, swords up, death in their eyes. There was nothing. Saitou held his ground; Kenshin turned to the other end of the hall. Again, nothing.

Kenshin glanced back at the reeking opening in the floor and decided to just try his luck.

"Which is the right door?" he asked the empty air.

"Father ahead. On the right." Replied the voice.

"Where does it lead?" asked Kenshin, straining for a polite tone.

"To the coffin room. Sanosuke is there, but he's asleep. The new ones must sleep all day." Said the voice, which he now realized was both feminine and very young.

"New what?" asked Kenshin, dreading the answer.

There was silence for a moment before the voice struggled with the answer.

"I know not the Japanese word…gaki maybe, but that's not quite right. Gaki would imply that they are youkai, they're not youkai."

"They? What about you?" asked Kenshin, curiosity seeping into his voice.

"I'm a vixen." Replied the voice happily.

"Vixen? What's that?"

"Kitsune onna!" hailed the voice, happy to please.

"Why are you helping us?" asked Saitou.

"It's Master's will. Master said you would come." Said the voice, now quite serious.

The trap door slammed shut, the walls flowed together, closing up the opening that Saitou had made in the doorway.

Darkness descended and the voice laughed.

0o0o0o0o0o0

End Part 2


	3. The Vampire

Bloody Kisses

By: Lazeralk

Standard disclaimers apply. Random 1st person POV, one time thing. (hopefully)

Part 3

"The Vampire"

0o0o0o0o0o0

I awoke to the most incessant dripping sound, right next to my ear. I went over a mental check to make sure I hadn't lost any body parts, I stretched my limbs, one at a time and the muscles in my stomach and chest. I moved my neck ever so slightly and came away with quite a bit of useful but disturbing information.

One – I was indeed intact. Two – I was chained at the wrist and the ankle. Three – I was unarmed. Four – I was lying on my back, on silk. Five – I was also with out clothing. Six – Saitou was next to me. Seven – he was also in a similar state. Eight – this was extremely embarrassing.

"Oroo…" I managed to squeak out.

"You awake Battousai?" came Saitou's hushed voice.

"Un." I said, trying the get as much distance as possible between me and the wolf. He was lying so near me that I could feel the heat coming off his skin in a long line all way down my body. Awkward is a very mild word at the moment. Poor Kenshin. Naked, in bed with an equally naked Saitou and chained up. Kinky.

"Hi Kenshin. Saitou." Said a very familiar voice.

"Sano?" asked Kenshin hopefully.

"Yep. How are ya?"

"Um…embarrassed?"

"Aw, why's that?" asked Sano conversationally.

"Oro! Can I have my clothes back please?" said Kenshin, struggling to understand how Sano could _not_ see why he was embarrassed.

"Sorry man, Master's will."

Sano was gone.

He's doing that a lot lately.

Once again I was left alone. With Saitou. Naked. Oh, Kami whatever I did to deserve this I am so so so sorry!

"Hello!" chirped a voice. The same voice that had spoken to us earlier.

Female. There was a little girl in the room with us and we were naked. Heat rushed up my face and seemed to stay there for a long time.

"What's going on kitsune?" asked Saitou in a somewhat bored voice, as if being chained naked to a bed with another man was perfectly normal. Inari help me.

"The master wants you for his kiss." She replied. I could see her face now. She was maybe, seven. Short blond hair tied in pigtails to the sides of her head. She was wearing some weird western version of clothing, in a bright happy pink. But as cute as she may have been, her eyes were scary as hell. Her eyes were gold. Gold is not a normal color for human eyes. Sure mine go all goldish when I'm really angry, but this was absurd.

She smiled at me, and her canines were longer than they should have been. She had teeth like an animal, a dog or cat maybe. Not big like a wolf or anything, but noticeable.

"Do you know what a kiss is human?" she asked. I did not like that question at all. Kami, I want my clothes.

"No." I squeaked out, trying for time and information. Maybe if I let Battousai take over…

"A kiss is what you call a group of vampires." She told me. The word '_vampire'_ rolling off her tongue strangely. Her accent wasn't right for the syllables in the word.

"What is 'vampire'?" I asked. It was most certainly not a Japanese word, and thus, I had no idea what it meant.

"We are the ancient ones, human. We are the beautifully dead." Said a voice from the shadows. I hadn't detected a presence in the room. Fuck. That is not good. These things, these 'vampires', could sneak up on me. Then it hit me. Dead? Now wait just a minute. Dead is dead…right? So, why is a dead man talking to me?

"Confused my little one?" cooed the voice, rich like silk on bare skin. The sound alone made me shutter. It was meant to be seductive. Oh, Inari.

"And you my wolf? What do you know of my kind?" the voice was reasonable, coaxing, beautiful. The words slithered down my skin like the breath of a lover, intimate and secret. I shivered as if he'd touched me.

"I know what you are." Growled Saitou, his voice was deeper somehow. He was feeling it too.

"Good, my wolf, good." Said the voice, like you'd reward a dog for doing a trick right.

"I am not your wolf, Vampire." Hissed Saitou, he was getting really pist. I don't think I wanted to be right next to him at that moment.

"No, no you are most certainly not, are you my wolf? But you will be. You'll be a perfect pet my wolf." Cooed the voice, amused, laughing. It was pleasurable to hear, to feel that sound roll along my skin, inside of me, caressing me. It was also unnerving as hell.

"I will kill you." Growled Saitou, his voice deepening again to a low base rumble.

He laughed then and I thought I might die with the sensation. It crawled over me, obscene and sexual. It touched places in my body that should have never been touched by anyone. It made my breathing quicken, my heart speed up. I think I may have gasped because he was suddenly there. I hadn't even registered the movement.

His face was like marble, pure and smooth and perfect. His skin was pale but flushed, his lips full and supple. His eyes though, his eyes were the deepest midnight black I'd ever seen. I looked into his eyes and had the sensation of falling forward into that darkness, feeling it wrap around me completely, and then there was nothing.

0o0o0o0o0o0

End part 3


	4. The Fox

Bloody Kisses 

By: Lazeralk

Standard disclaimers apply.

Part 4

"The Fox"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kenshin woke as he was before with three noticeable differences. The first was that his neck hurt like a son of a bitch. The second was that he was no longer chained to the bed. The third was that he was very much alone. Well, not totally alone. The little girl was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking up at him. He blushed and quickly covered himself with the sheets.

"Hi." She said.

"Um...hello…" returned Kenshin.

"I'm Melissa."

"Kenshin."

"I know who you are. We've been watching you for weeks." She said.

Kenshin jumped at the revelation.

"You what?" he exclaimed.

Melissa nodded.

Kenshin forced his body relax a little, settling against the headboard.

"Where is Saitou?" he asked of her.

"Master moved him to another room." She replied. She smiled suddenly.

"I'm here at your disposal. Anything you want, tell me. Anything you want to know, ask me." She chirped.

Kenshin sucked in a breath and began to question her at a rapid pace.

"Who is he, this master you speak of? How did he do that with his voice? Why am I not chained up anymore? Why, for Kami's sake, did you have to take my clothes? What time is it? How many days have past?"

Melissa was staring at him.

Kenshin blinked.

Melissa laughed then, a happy joyous sound that warmed him from the inside out.

"The master is the Vampire Isaac. He's very powerful. Your not chained up anymore because the master will make you part of his kiss. You'll be living with us forever and ever so he's being nice. We took your clothes because the master wanted to see you. He always makes sure that potential kiss members are healthy. Its almost noon now and it's been three days since you first came to us."

Oh. Isn't that lovely.

"Why Sano?" asked Kenshin.

"Sano was a lure. We knew he was your friend, that you'd come to get him if we took him. We didn't think you'd bring the wolf to us. It was a good thing that you did though, now we don't have to kidnap his wife."

Kenshin's head was spinning. This was just too weird.

I'll say. Not everyday that you get kidnapped by people as screwed up in the head as these guys.

"What does it mean? To be a part of a the kiss?"

Smart man. Seize the important questions.

"Not _the _kiss, _a_ kiss. There are a lot of kisses. A kiss of vampires is sort of a family unit, with one master and several lessers. To be a part of a kiss, you gain their protection, but you also have to obey the master. Do you want something to eat? You lost a lot of blood last night." She said, lying on her stomach, chin in her hands, her elbows propped up on the bedspread, her legs kicking lazily at the air.

"Blood?" asked Kenshin, hand going for his neck.

"Yep. Vampires are immortal but they must drink blood to sustain themselves."

Kenshin made a face.

"Gross." He said.

She giggled, a smiled splitting her face.

"Why did you say you were a fox?" he asked, becoming more relaxed in her presence.

"I'm a werefox. Fox is my master's animal to call." She said, like it explained everything. It didn't. What else is new?

"What does that mean?" Asked Kenshin, fully aware how stupid he must look, asking the same stupid question of a seven year old over and over.

"When a vampire reaches master level, sometimes they gain an animal to call. A specific animal that will come when called and obey that master unquestioningly. There are people who can shapeshift in to an animal, they are called weres. I'm a were, a werefox because the animal that I turn into is a fox. Understand?"

"Not really. But ok." He said, gaining a thoughtful expression. Inside his head, Kenshin understood perfectly well, he also understood that he had to get out of there and the best way to do that was to get as much information out of this girl as possible and find out where Saitou was.

"Are you hungry?" She asked.

Kenshin shook his head.

"That's a lot to take in Meilisa-chan." He said, stumbling over her name.

She giggled and Kenshin smiled for her.

"Can I give you a nick-name?" he asked.

"Sure!" she said, coming to her knees, a look of childlike eagerness on her face.

"Melu?" he suggested. Smiling tenderly when he heard her delighted squeal and her sweet voice trying the word.

"Melu! Melu!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands happily.

"Melu-chan it is then." He told her gently.

The girl giggled again and Kenshin's heart ached at the thought of having to betray her. However, he had no intention whatsoever of becoming a member of Isaac's kiss. He ran a hand through his hair and found it unbound. Puzzled he pulled it over his shoulder and played with the flame red tips for a moment before looking up to find Melu watching him intently.

"Could you get me my clothes and something to tie my hair back with?" he asked politely.

"Sure!" she chirped as she bounced off the bed, her blonde pigtails flying.

Kenshin took a moment to study his surroundings now that Melu-chan had left to carry out her tasks. The room was ordinary enough with traditional tatami floors and shoji doors and walls. The only things out of place were the silk sheets and the western bed. There was a chest in the far corner and a desk littered with paper, ink well and brush. A vanity stood by the bed, a tall mirror reflecting Kenshin's face and the white area on his neck that framed two perfect puncture marks.

He slid off the bed and, careful to take the sheet with him, moved in front of the mirror to inspect the wound. A hairbrush and an ornate hairpin lay on the vanity. All in all the room looked as if it belonged to a girl. Kenshin picked up the hairbrush and ran it through his long mane of silky fire as he contemplated what he was going to do.

First he had to learn the ropes around here, the schedule of events. He had to have information and quickly. Second he had to locate his sword. Third he had to locate Saitou and Sano. Fourth he had to get out.

Satisfied with his priorities, he gazed at the door in the reflection of the mirror and waited for Melu-chan to come back. He continued with his brushing until the soft padding of little feet and the bright aura of power headed his way.

"Kenshin! I got it!" she cried happily, struggling with the large bundle of cloth in her arms.

Kenshin smiled softly for her and rose, bringing the sheet with him, and took the items from her arms.

"Thank you Melu-chan." He said, setting the clothing on the bed.

Melu bounced around the room happy to have helped. Kenshin pulled a gi from the pile and immediately noted that it was not his. The gi was a deep red, and looked to be brand new. What's more the material felt like brushed silk. He slid into the garment and smiled at the feel of it. He closed the gi, and dropped the sheet, then holding it together with one hand he snatched up the hakama. The lower half of his ensemble was a deep and solid gray, also brushed silk. He pulled them over the gi and tied them securely.

He wandered over to the mirror and found Melu sitting it front of it, her pig tails undone, and attempting to put her hair up with the pin. Kenshin watched her for a moment as she struggled helplessly with the object and smiled. He gently took it from her hands and twisted her hair up against the back of her small head; he expertly weaved the pin into place holding her wheat blonde locks in an elegant swirl.

Melu smiled and squealed happily, climbing to her feet and spinning around in a childish dance.

Kenshin examined himself in the mirror and found the tie he asked for on the vanity. He pulled his hair back in a simple tail and tied it securely.

"Well now Melu-chan, about that food. Do you think we can eat outside?" he asked.

"Yeah!" cried Melu as she grabbed Kenshin's hand and led him towards the door.

Kenshin allowed himself to be pulled along and smiled after her. They reached a hallway and Kenshin found that his room was near the central courtyard. Sunlight streamed through the slowly wilting sakura trees and played across a small pool and garden. The koi had long since died and the garden was ill kept. Moss grew over the stones and the once beautiful plants were over grown and browning.

He also noted that the east wing had black shoji, all the windows boarded up and blacked out.

Melu pulled him from his observations by beginning to sing. He glanced at her quickly and continued to trace a path from his room to wherever they were going. Melu sang in a different language, her voice high and sweet.

"Ring around the coffins

A pocket full of crosses

Ashes ashes

We all draw blood!"

0o0o0o0o0o0

End Part 4


	5. The Escape

Bloody Kisses 

By: Lazeralk

Standard disclaimers apply.

Part 5

"The Escape"

AN: Miburo Kid, I'd just like to say that you are one of my favorite people right now and that you get both cookies and brownie points. Innocent Battousai gets brownie points and gold star stickers, yumise-lunar gets Aoshi plushies, Pirotessa and Rea get creepy Kenshin-vampire plushies!

0o0o0o0o0o0

Melu ended up leading Kenshin to the kitchens where she pointed at a pile of raw cooking material.

"Vampires can't eat solid food. But you'll find that out soon enough." She chirped.

Kenshin blinked at her. Another piece of information gained.

"What would you like to eat?" he asked with a smile.

"What can you make?" countered Melu.

"Hm. Yakisoba, teriyaki…oh, there's some daicon radishes here, I can make some ramen then and tofu and fish with green onion." He said.

Melu stared at him for a minute.

"Can't you make pizza?"

Kenshin blinked.

"What's pizza?" he asked.

"Oh never mind." Said Melu with a cute frown. She shrugged her thin shoulders and smiled happily up at him, the picture of sweet and innocent.

Sure. Gag me with a spoon.

"Make what ever you want!" she chirped.

Kenshin smiled at her and padded across the floor to the table. The dry tatami cracked sharply under his bare feet.

"Melu-chan? You think you can find my shoes? I don't want to get splinters in my feet." He said.

Melu bounced around happily.

"Sure! Be right back!" she called slipping out the door.

Kenshin looked through the vegetables and found the combination that he wanted. He set them aside and began to cook miso and rice. He ground up a few of the choicer herbs and mixed them into the soup he'd poured into a brightly colored bowl. He poured regular soup into a plain one and set them aside.

Melu opened the door as soon as his fingers left them and held up a new pair of tabi and his battered sandals.

"I couldn't find the same size in the new ones, so you have to wear these until we can go shopping." She said, laying the shoes by the low eating table.

That was good, his shoes were double looped so that the straps wouldn't break when he jumped. He smiled and set a steaming bowl of rice in front of her and a pair of chopsticks.

"Thank you Melu-chan." He said seating himself and pulling on his tabi and sandals before getting up again to fetch the rest of their meals. He set the soup down last, just out of her reach.

"Do you really eat this stuff?" she asked poking at the food with just one chopstick.

"Yes Melu-chan, here, hold the hashi like this." He took her small hand in his own and showed her how to hold and use the chopsticks properly. She squealed in delight when she managed to pick up some rice after several tries.

Kenshin ate quickly, wanting to be finished before her. He held up his soup, balancing the bowl on the tips of his fingers before drinking it in one gulp. Melu watched with fascination before picking up her own bowl and copying him. She promptly passed out.

Score one for Ken-chan.

He smiled bitterly at his latest accomplishment and then stood up. He snuck out of the kitchen and down the hall. He began to systematically search each of the rooms he came across, looking for Saitou or his sword or anything that he could use to get out of there.

Five rooms and no luck, Kenshin frowned but refused to groan in annoyance.

Did you think I'd make this easy?

He forced himself to be patient, just as he'd done hundreds of times before, breath in…breath out…breath in…breath out.

Ah, that's so much better. Kenshin slid the next shoji open soundlessly, mentally patting himself on the back for not getting rusty. Inside was an empty room with clean tatami mats and a large sliding closet. Kenshin slid the shoji shut, also soundlessly.

The Battousai was not a happy hitokiri, he felt like stomping his feet in frustration. He slid another door open and was about to close it again when an abnormality struck him. There was a length of chain on the floor.

Curious, he followed the chain to another door on the other side of the room and eased it open to find a still naked Saitou unconscious on the floor. Kenshin's eyes widened as he watched blood drip from a nasty, fresh-looking wound on the ex-Shinsengumi's neck.

The redhead glanced over his shoulder, stretched his senses to encompass the compound and slid the door shut behind him. Melu was where he'd left her, her ki relaxed with sleep. Several other bright ki moved slowly inside the east wing but Kenshin paid them no mind.

He looked at Saitou's sleeping form and weighed his options. Saitou was a samurai, like him, and startling him awake was not a healthy course of action. He moved around the room so that he was in his ally's field of vision and jabbed him with ki.

Saitou twitched. I love it when he does that.

Kenshin frowned and jabbed him again. Poke. Poke poke.

Saitou growled but opened his eyes, glaring menacingly at the one who'd disturbed his rest with hazy eyes.

"Saitou? It's me; we gotta get out of here. Saitou? Can you stand?" Kenshin whispered, pulling off his over kimono and draping it carefully over the wolf's body.

"Battousai?" mumbled Saitou, one shackled hand coming up to gingerly touch the wound on his neck.

"Yes. Come on Saitou, get up." Kenshin replied as he slowly made his way over to his fallen companion, moving carefully as not to startle him.

Saitou growled, making Kenshin freeze, before he pushed himself up on all fours. He sat back on his heels; Kenshin blushed and turned around quickly. Saitou chuckled at him before wrapping the over kimono around himself. The hem of the garment came down to mid thigh and Saitou scowled at it.

"You can look now Battousai." He teased. Kenshin turned and glared at his friend, pouting cutely. Awww. Ken-chan is so adorable.

Saitou pulled weakly at the chains and sighed when they only creaked at him mockingly. He looked up at the Battousai as if to say 'now what genius?'

Kenshin studied the bonds for a moment before answering simply.

"Dislocate your thumbs." Ouch…why is he turning into Heero Yuy all the sudden?

Saitou blinked at him. Can you hear the little blinky noises? I can.

"What?" asked Kenshin, as if his suggestion was perfectly normal. Maybe for psycho assassins…wait, Saitou and Kenshin _were_ psycho assassins …hmm.

Saitou sighed and promptly dislocated his thumbs with twin sickening crunches. He slipped his now thin hands through the manacles and then re-located his thumbs with equally disturbing crunches. Eww…

"Alright Battousai, lets get out of here."

0o0o0o0o0o0

End part 5


	6. The Truth

Bloody Kisses 

By: Lazeralk

Standard disclaimers apply.

Part 6

"The Truth"

AN: I really do love all of the people who reviewed, but don't jump to conclusions! I never said anywhere that Kenshin was a vampire, or that Saitou was one either. This is flavored with Anita Blake, which means that they need three bites to become vampires, and they only have one each.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Saitou silently vowed to kill the Battousai latter. Walking through the busy streets of Tokyo at noon in only an over kimono was not fun. He did get his fair share of wolf whistles mind you, ("Yeah baby! Gimme somea that!") to which he responded with death threats. ("Ome o korosu!") See? Everyone has a little Heero in them.

The poor wolf was on the verge of an embarrassment-induced nervous breakdown and the red headed idiot walking next to him was not helping.

"It's not so bad Saitou, at least now you know that half the female population of the city thinks you're cute."

"Shove it Battousai, or I'll do it for you." Growled the wolf.

"Damn." Whispered a girl they'd just past. "Why are all the cute ones gay?" I know, but I never took Saitou for the submissive type.

Saitou froze and shook for a moment, both a sign of barely contained anger and open revulsion. He didn't have a problem with the gay thing, but with the baka-Battousai? Hell no!

"Ne, Saitou, we should keep moving, you have a spare uniform at your office don't you?" asked Kenshin lightly, as if he hadn't heard the last comment directed towards them. The color of his face betrayed him however. If this gets back to Kaoru via the gossip grapevine, Kenshin is dead. Screw the vampire; Kaoru would rip him into tiny little pieces. And then attempt to cook them, which will not end well. Kaoru and Akane attended the same cooking school it seems. Oh, the horror.

They made it back to Saitou's office relatively un-harassed. The wolf's co-workers had pretended to ignore them both, probably because the psycho cop looked livid as all hell and ready to snap as the slightest provocation. He needed a massage. Any volunteers?

Kenshin, being the helpful little guy that he was, dug around in Saitou's closet and found a spare uniform that had been shoved in there because it had blood all over it. Go figure. The redhead sweat-dropped but dusted it off and held it up for Saitou's verdict.

"Give it here." The wolf snarled and yanked it out of the Battousai's hands. Before he knew what hit him, Saitou was once again naked and standing in front of him, bending over to pull the uniform pants up. Drool. Kenshin, being the oh-so-modest man that he was, blushed crimson and stared. That's right boys and girls. The fearsome Hitokiri Battousai was ogling the wolf. _Very_ professional Kenshin.

Not that I blame him. I mean, _damn_.

Anyway, once the inspector was fully clothed, and Kenshin's face looked less like a tomato, the two sat down and _attempted_ to have a serious conversation about the very serious implications of the very serious situation they'd just gotten out of. Very serious stuff here.

"So."

"Yeah."

"Well."

"Saitou?"

"Yes?"

And silence…

…

Wind, birds chirping…

"What the hell just happened?"

"Well. We were captured by vampires, but we got out with only one bite a piece. That's a good thing. You need three bites given over three nights to be turned, like the rooster." Saitou pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his desk drawer. Chain smoker.

"They'll be back for us, wont they?"

Saitou nodded as he lit up. Of course they'd be hunting down Kenshin. Where would be the fun if they didn't?

Kenshin sighed, running a hand through his bangs as he picked up the discarded gi he'd had Saitou wear. He slipped back into it, tucking it into his hakama instead of trying to do it properly. While Saitou didn't seem to have a problem stripping down in front of him, the redhead was a little body shy.

"You know Saitou, you're taking this whole thing pretty well. Why is that I wonder?"

"Oh come on Battousai, surely you've figured it out by now."

"Ano, figured out what?"

Oh god, run for you lives! My muse is about to do something drastic!

Saitou snorted, expelling a puff of smoke at the same time.

"Even _you_ can't be this dense. Really now Battousai, how many clues do I have to give you?"

"Saitou, will you please just spit it out already? I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

They frowned at each other, Saitou in annoyance and Kenshin in confusion. The ex-Shinsengumi sighed loudly and snuffed out his cigarette in the already overflowing ashtray on his desk. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the wood and pinning his former rival with a hard stare.

"Battousai, I wasn't kidding when I told you that I'm a wolf."

Kenshin's nose scrunched up as he scowled cutely at the other man.

"And that means…?"

"You baka-Battousai! I'm a werewolf!"

0o0o0o0o0o0

End part 6

MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Didn't see that one coming now didja! Didja, didja, didja? Oh, my muse is so mean! I'm sorry! I know you all wanted a vampy Saitou but it just isn't possible! He's a wolf, damnit! A wolf! I tried to make him a bloodsucker, I tried! It didn't work! My muse revolted! She locked herself in a closet and refused to write anything for weeks! I had to! Don't you understand! **_I had to!_**


	7. The Aftermath

Bloody Kisses 

By: Lazeralk

I do not own Kenshin. If I did, he would be covered in chocolate and whipped cream, and chained, naked, to my bed at all times.

Part 7

"The Aftermath"

AN: My love, thanks and various flavors of cookies go to the following: Innocent Battousai, RiddleStar, cleo, Lexi-Teniro, GreenEyedFloozy, NNO, Jasmine Reinier, Rea, SHNfanyay, Mibuhiro, Azimel, Pirotessa, yumise-lunar and . I'm glad you all, you know…didn't freak or anything over Saitou's lycanthropy. I'm so sorry to everyone who had their hearts set on Saitou with fangs. Well, if its any consolation, he does have fangs…just not vampire-y ones.

The basket of cookies and fudge goes to Miburo Kid, who has been with me since the beginning and has shown a strangely stalker like zeal when it comes to this particular story. My muse squeals most annoyingly when she sees your name on the reviewer list. The earplugs do nothing.

So, the story. Right. Almost forgot about that part.

0o0o0o0o0o0

A few hours after Kenshin had left Saitou's offices found the redhead inching towards the dojo's front gate, a look of muted terror on his handsome face.

The gate was halfway open; the streets empty save the former Hitokiri as he tiptoed to his home, fearing the wrath of Kaoru-dono. He'd been gone for days without warning; she was going to be worried and angry and-and **_violent_**. Really really violent. Cautiously, he poked his head in and scanned the courtyard, his ears straining for a sound. What met him was muffled sobs.

Guilt instantly flooding him, he raced across the open yard and into the house, making a beeline for Kaoru's room. The sobs got louder as he went until he slid the shoji open and stepped inside. His heart broke at the sight of her curled up on her futon in her sleeping yukata and crying her eyes out. He hated it when she cried.

"Kaoru-dono? I'm home now, so please don't cry." He whispered, closing the door with out turning around, his eyes focused on her.

She gasped, lifted herself up and stared at him, mouth hanging open.

"Kenshin?" she whispered, one hand curled to her chest, the other supporting her weight.

"Its me Kaoru-dono. I'm so sorry to have made you worry." He said.

"Kenshin. Kenshin." She cried desperately, disbelievingly.

"Yes Kaoru-dono?"

"Kenshin. **_WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!"_** she screamed. Leaping to her feet, she grabbed the front of his new silk kimono and shook him as hard as she could.

"ORO!" he managed to gasp out, his head spinning.

"Kenshin! Answer me! What happened! Where were you? Did you get into a fight? Are you ok? And where did this kimono come from?" she demanded.

"Kaoru-dono! Please…stop shaking me!"

"Oh!" she gasped, dropping him unceremoniously on the floor. Ouch.

"Oro…well, I was kidnapped, and imprisoned for the last three days in that old house Sano was talking about." He said, now quite serious as he arranged himself on the tatami.

"I saw Sano again in there, and he was different. It was like he didn't care what happened to me. That can't be right though, I know Sano, and he would never be so callous. Something must be wrong." No shit Sherlock.

"Kenshin, of course something's wrong! You were kidnapped!" cried Kaoru. Yeah! Who cares about Sano? He's not nearly as yummy as Kenshin is!

"It was more than that Kaoru-dono. Even Saitou noticed it, even if he didn't say anything about it."

"Saitou was there?" Oh he was there all right, and naked too. Hehehe.

"Yes, he and I both were captured. Kaoru-dono, please listen to me. As much as I would like for this to be resolved quickly without involving you, I know that it will not happen. The man who attacked Saitou and I called himself Isaac." (Aisiku, if you're wondering how that would be spelled in Romanji.) Actually…from now on that's how I'm gonna spell his name, take that muse-lady!

"Aisiku? What kind of name is that?" asked Kaoru, settling herself next to him and closer than what was polite, though that could just be her residual worry that he'd vanish again at any moment. Paranoia at its finest.

"It must be foreign, there was a little girl there with an equally strange name that I had trouble pronouncing. She was singing in a different language, so they must be foreign." Answered Kenshin. He flicked his gaze to her, smiling softly to himself at her proximity.

After Saitou's rather…er…obvious displays of himself, anything female was a good thing to the abused redhead.

"Kaoru-dono, I'm not sure exactly what this man wants with me. He's not a leftover of the revolution like I am so his motives are unclear. What little I gathered from him suggested that he wasn't human and that he wanted to make me not human too. How though, I have no idea. Saitou might, he almost seemed familiar with these…vamupaiya."

"Vamupaiya? It must be a foreign word. Wonder what it means exactly." Answered Kaoru, a finger to her chin in thought.

"Oh! Kenshin, I almost forgot. I got a letter from Misao yesterday. She and Aoshi will be arriving here later tonight and-and I've just been so miserable that I haven't cooked anything."

Kenshin smiled, sweat sliding down his neck. Yeah, me too, wouldn't want to poison the ninjas now would we?

"Don't worry Kaoru-dono, I'll cook something alright? Why don't you get dressed while I work? Wear that blue kimono with the white butterflies on it?" said, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Kaoru immediately turned beat red. You know the color? That glowing neon red that she gets when she realizes that she's done something embarrassing and inappropriate? Come to think of it, she turns that color when she's about to pulverize Kenshin too…huh. Go figure.

Anyway. Kenshin let himself out and called loudly for Yahiko as he made his way toward the kitchen. He'd send the boy out for groceries once he saw what was missing from the kitchen.

Just as he rounded a corner a small green yellow and black missile hit him in the stomach.

"Kenshin! You jerk! Do you know how worried I-er Kaoru was!" Yahiko yelled as he pulled himself out of his impromptu hug with a huff of indignation. Aww…Yahiko is so cute with his failed attempts at manliness.

"I just spoke with Kaoru-dono Yahiko, and I'm very sorry from making either of you worry but I was kidnapped. I'll explain everything when Aoshi and Misao get here alright?" said the Battousai soothingly as he led them both towards his intended destination.

"I wasn't worried! I knew you would come back Kenshin. Kaoru was the one who was worried, you know, cuz she's a girl." The boy said in a desperate attempt to salvage his dignity. It didn't work.

"Sure Yahiko, listen. I need you to run down to the market before they close and pick up some things for me ok?"

"Yeah ok Kenshin." He agreed, anything to please his idol. It didn't occur to him that shopping for vegetables was women's work and therefore very unmanly.

Kenshin glanced around the kitchen, pleased that it wasn't burned down and sent Yahiko off with a list. Now, despite the appeal of Kenshin in an apron, and hopefully nothing else, watching him cook isn't very fun. Especially since he's fully clothed. So were skipping that part.

Ok, let's see, ah! The arrival of Aoshi, Misao and a surprise mystery guest!

That's right, it's the only other person who's relative to this plot and actually makes sense attending a tactical meeting to plot against your friendly neighborhood bloodsuckers.

Plus my muse is in love with him, or his body, you know. Whichever.

Setting the last dish on the table and following slightly behind a dressed up Kaoru, who was indeed wearing the blue kimono, Kenshin went to answer the door.

"Himura!" cried Misao as she hit him with a flying full-body tackle. Aoshi arched an eyebrow and bowed to Kaoru before presenting her with a box of Kyoto's finest sakura mochi.

Kenshin sighed and peeked over Misao's head at the other guest, a cigarette glowing in the darkness.

"Hello again Saitou. Please, come in."

0o0o0o0o0o0

End part 7


	8. The Explanation

Bloody Kisses 

By: Lazeralk

Kenshin does not belong to me, if he did, well you know what I'd do to him. Saitou on the other hand…

Part 8

"The Explanation"

My thanks and love (and well placed bribes) goes to Jasmine, whom I am desperately attempting to not picture as a Disney princess. It's not working.

GreenEyedFloozy; dear, faithful GreenEyedFloozy. I do adore you and your stalker-ness. It's always a pleasure to see your name.

Dstar504, you're a new name on my list but your questions have stirred something in me. Can they be gay?…hmmmm. It's entirely possible. I am, after all, quite a rabid yaoi fangirl. However, I don't think I've ever _written_ yaoi before. Kenshin is far too much fun as the Rurouni to even consider turning him Battousai until the real action begins. Can you imagine Battousai falling over from a nosebleed due to a stripping wolf? It just isn't done. It would ruin the point of Battousai's er…Battousai-ness.

Miburo Kid, my very own, personal stalker. I'm glad you liked my random sarcasm. This story is, in fact, an experiment to see if I can be both an omniscient narrator and a third person observer at the same time. So far it's working. My muse (Kiyah) sends her own greetings. Stop spoiling her or she's going to start flirting with you and I don't think I can handle that. Really, my muse, who a separate entity living in my head is having an Internet affair…Think about that for a second. The men in the white coats will be coming for me any minute now with straight jackets.

RiddleStar, another one of my loyal converts. You know, at the rate I'm going, I could have my own mini cult. I always wanted to be a cult leader. I think that would be just smashing. I'm so glad you find me funny, sometimes I don't even find me funny, and so if you do then I must be doing something right. As for the lack of update, well, real life, school, work and some (evil) matchmaking friends have been plotting to slowly torture me to death. I'm trying though, really I am. I sit down and type a little here and a little there and it gets done eventually. I'll try to shorten the wait though. Your right, three months is a bit much.

Anime#1Fan, you are also a new face to my list, but welcome to the cult anyway. I wasn't aware that you were following this story, so sorry for the long wait, RiddleStar already scolded me for it and I'm perfecting my puppy dog look for next time.

**A quick note to everyone**: this is a turning point in the story and the plot will get decidedly more serious from here on out with only little old me for comic relief. I'm going to up the rating for the massive amount of blood guts and gore to be spilled shortly. This story started out pretty fluffy, it will not end that way. You have been warned.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The faces sitting around the dinner table in the Kamiya Dojo were all fairly grim with the possible exceptions of Misao, who was overly optimistic, and Yahiko, who was utterly confused. Kenshin eyed the second sword half concealed behind Saitou's back, but didn't comment on it. Aoshi also noticed the out-of-place weapon and shot a glance at the Battousai, who offered a small shrug. The redhead simply turned his attention to the wolf, his normally jovial expression quite serious.

"You seem to be the only one here who knows what's going on Saitou, care to explain?" asked Kenshin, his eyes a solid purple, like colored steel rubbed raw.

The wolf set down his tea and shifted into a more comfortable position, his uniform jacket slipping down his arms before he began.

"Very well Battousai, as you all undoubtedly know, the enemy we are facing is not human. The primary threat is posed by the vampires. They are undead creatures, that is, neither living nor dead. They are extremely hard to kill for several reasons. They are smart, some of them have lived for hundreds of years and they take advantage of their experiences. Because they are not truly living, they can survive killing blows and regenerate almost anything. When you fight them, aim for the head and the heart." Here he paused, seeming to be organizing the thoughts in his head.

"Another reason is that steel doesn't affect them. You could stab a vampire, but the wound would be closed and fully healed seconds after you pulled your sword out. You need silver to hurt a vampire. Even so, silver is not fool-proof, it will force them to heal almost human slow, but no matter how deadly the wound, if it not in the head or the heart, it will heal."

Saitou reached behind him, pulling the second katana he'd had strapped to his belt off it's hook and handed it to Kenshin.

"You left your reverse blade sword in Aisiku's layer. This blade is a true katana, but the steel had been mixed with silver and then lightly plated. If you so much as nick me with that blade I'll rip you apart with my claws. Shapeshifters, like me and that little kitsune-onna, are highly allergic to silver. If enough of it is introduced to our system, we will die."

"Saitou, I don't think I can use this sword." Said Kenshin uncertainly, eyeing the sheathed blade as if it might bite him.

"You have no choice Battousai, if you do not kill them, they will most certainly kill you, or turn you, or use you as cattle until you die of blood loss. Wake up Battousai! They are not human, and to them you are nothing but a food source!" hissed the wolf, trying to impress upon the redhead how serious their situation had become.

Kenshin's head shot up and he met the wolf's eyes, trying to see Aisiku as a bloodthirsty monster. His only memory of the vampire brought a shudder to his small frame. His body remembered the sensual caress of the man's voice, the pale perfection of his face, the fathomless depths of his midnight eyes.

He shook the thoughts away and lifted fingers to the wound on his neck, thinking briefly that Aisiku's lips had touched him there.

"The bite, yes." Said Saitou, more to himself.

"There is more to that than you know Battousai, once a vampire bites a human, they gain control over them if they rolled the humans mind while they did it. Aisiku rolled you, it's the only reason you didn't scream when he sunk fang into your neck."

"What about your bite then?" asked Kenshin hotly, on the defensive for a reason unknown to him. Was the vampire affecting him even now, without his knowledge? The former Hitokiri scowled at the idea, uncomfortable with the thought of being under anyone's control. A part of him, much darker and blood stained, whispered that he'd been Katsura's little puppet happily enough. He told it to shut up, that Katsura was different, that he'd gone willingly into his service.

"It's harder to roll a shapeshifter that doesn't want to be rolled, and I think he wanted me to feel the pain anyway." Remarked Saitou in his usual bored tone.

The wolf shifted again, his fingers itching for a cigarette. He glanced at Kaoru, and the bokken at her side. He decided it wasn't worth it.

Battousai's woman was _scary_.

"Battousai, Shinomori, Itachi-musume, there's one more thing I should warn you about before we retire for the night."

"Yes?" asked Kenshin, still glancing uncertainly at the blade in his lap.

"Vampires have some strange and particularly annoying powers that you should be aware of. Aisiku is an incubus (inkubusu in Romanji), which means that he feeds on lust. I'm not sure what other powers he might have, or how far his power goes, but he could be capable of any number of things. Vampires have been known to fly, yes _fly_ Battousai, don't look at me like that. Some can cut you without even touching you, some can cause paralyzing fear, and some have more than one animal to call."

"Foxes for Aisiku right?" Asked Kenshin.

"Yes, though keep in mind that it might not be the only kind of animal that bows to him. You remember that a vampire can control people that he's bitten and rolled at the same time? With the amount of missing persons reports sitting on my desk right now, we can be fairly certain that he'll have plenty of slaves to help protect his lair."

"Don't these things have any other weaknesses?" Misao asked, a frown marring her features.

"Well, there is one, but it will be difficult to exploit."

"It has to be better than nothing." Said Kaoru, fiddling with the sleeve of her kimono in worry.

"Some master vampires like Aisiku will take human servants, if we can kill the servant it will weaken him considerably if not kill him outright. It is said that vampires share the heart of their servants. However, finding the servant, if there even is one, will be difficult. It could be anyone, with the exception of the other vampires."

"So it could be one of his foxes?" Asked Misao.

"It could." Conceded Saitou, nodding his head.

Kenshin's thoughts were filled with Melu's bright smiles, her golden pigtails and her high, sweet voice. He blanched at the thought of killing her. She was just a child, a little girl.

He didn't think he could live with the blood of such an innocent little girl on his hands.

"Whatever you're thinking Battousai, stop it." Growled Saitou.

Kenshin gave him pleading eyes, as if asking Saitou to smile and say, 'just kidding, this has all just been a dream'.

"Don't delude yourself Battousai, this has to be done. You know it does."

"I don't have to like it." Muttered the redhead, his gentle heart constricting as his mind acknowledged the truth in the wolf's words. It had to be done; there was no other way. Kenshin repeated the mantra over and over in his head, but it offered him little comfort.

Kaoru's worried eyes lingered on her Rurouni, wanting so desperately to help him, to sooth the agony so clearly written on his face. She bit back a cry of frustration when he stood up; the silver katana clenched tightly in his hand, and strode away without a word.

She looked down at her hands, fisted on her lap and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, her breath shuddering in her lungs.

"Would you like to stay the night Saitou-san?" she asked shakily, but politely, offering him a watery smile.

"I think I had better tanuki-onna. We'll start planning an attack on the house tomorrow morning." He answered; climbing to his own feet with a grace no human could have managed after sitting so still for hours on end. He nodded to Aoshi and Misao before giving a short bow and wandering off to find a room that was unoccupied.

Kaoru rose herself and dragged her feet as she showed the ninjas where they would be sleeping before trudging to her own room. She collapsed on her futon and cried herself quietly to sleep.

End part 8


	9. The Plan

Bloody Kisses 

By: Lazeralk

Kenshin doesn't belong to me. Neither does Saitou. I know, makes you wanna cry don't it?

Part 9

"The Plan"

Reviewer Responses:

**RiddleStar,** how are you my dear? So good to hear from you again. The cult is progressing well don't you think? Anyway, just like the first couple of chapters, I never said that Melu was his human servant. You'll just have to wait and see what happens.

**Epoch Everlasting**, a new member of my growing mini-cult. Welcome to the fold. The rolling of the mind thing is like instant hypnosis. They just look at you and you don't care what they do to you anymore, you have no rational thought process. I think I explained it in my Hellsing fic Beginnings End.

**Anime#1Fan**, hello again, uh…how many rooms does the dojo have?…I have no idea. When in doubt, make stuff up. We're going to pretend that the dojo has lots of rooms.

**Jasmine**, you like bloodshed huh? If you like Hellsing, then my only completed stories have lots and lots of it. I detailed two full-scale wars. It was fun. Oh! You're drawing fanart? Yay! I've never had fanart before, cuz I cant draw! Please send it too me when you finish! puppy dog eyes

**Cleo**, welcome back, I missed you a chapter or so ago. Good to see you're still with us. Welcome to the cult.

**Dstar504**, yes, much more serious from here on out, but it should be ok. Don't worry, if I killed Saitou, this story would just stop. My muse would revolt and never let me write anything ever again. She's in love with him. I don't mind answering questions, its kind of fun actually. I wont give away the story though, but if you're confused, I'll do my best to clarify.

**Miburo Kid**, greetings and salutations my Robin-like sidekick. I have decided that you will be my second in command when it comes to dealings of the cult. I assure you there is much fun to come, I have this story planned out to chapter 20 so far. Its gonna get messy.

Innocent Battousai, I most certainly agree, gore is a good thing. I had lots of practice with my Hellsing fics, there will be blood, and soon too. Imalefty, welcome to the cult. I do like the Phantom of the Opera, I saw it performed live and was struck with inspiration. Though how I got Kenshin and vampires out of it, I have no idea. GreenEyedFloozy, I know, but we never said Kenshin was all that smart when it came to romance. But have no fear! There is a trace amount in fluff in this. Sorry about that, I did put you in here, but deleted it, and messed with my uh…boldness? Making things in bold? Er, never mind. 

**Azimel**, you who are also a member of the cult, my thanks for the typo correction, it's been fixed. I hope. If you see any more of those, please tell me, I have no beta reader to help me out, so any pointers for whatever mistakes is greatly appreciated. Even if it's a plot hole, please let me know about those, especially if they're big.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Morning settled over the dojo with oblivious joy, cheerfully ignoring the gloom that hung over the household. When Kaoru managed to pull herself out of bed, Kenshin Saitou and Aoshi were already up and halfway through breakfast as they poured over some maps Aoshi had managed to make appear out of thin air. He's magic like that.

Misao told her that he'd sent the Tokyo branch of the Oniwabanshu to make some guesses about what the layout of the house was. Apparently one of the Tokyo ninjas was a halfway decent artist and had turned up some nice looking sketches of the houses outsides walls and what he thought the inside looked like based on that. Kenshin and Saitou confirmed some of the room's placements and added things here and there, such as where the kitchen was and the second room, hidden behind the first, where Saitou had been kept.

Kenshin jotted down that the east wing had black shoji and that the windows were all boarded up.

Saitou told them that it was probably where the vampires were sleeping during the day.

"Hey Saitou? Why is that anyway?" asked Misao.

"You don't know?" asked the wolf; clearly he'd assumed that everyone knew that the sun would burn a vampire to dust. Apparently they didn't, and he sighed but explained it anyway. The vampire is truly a Greek invention, starting with the story of Lamia who went around killing children and drinking their blood. Yeah. I know. Most of Zeus' love affairs don't end like that, but this one did.

"So we most defiantly want to attack during the day." She concluded.

"Obviously weasel-girl." Snorted Saitou.

"What are our objectives for this mission?" asked Kenshin, slipping a little into Battousai's old habits. Maybe it's the gi. Can you imagine? 'Battousai! You are hereby sealed away forever with the use of our most powerful and accursed repellant! The color…**_pink_**! Muhahaha!' That was a random Inuyasha moment, ignore it.

Saitou's eyes showed that he recognized what was happening but he didn't comment on it.

"I should think we'll want to kill the master and everyone else in that damned house. If you leave even one of them alive, this whole thing will just start all over again when that one becomes the new master. Then whoever the new master is will kill people to rebuild the kiss and we'll be back to square one." Said Saitou, hoping to stop the redheaded manslayer from foolishly thinking they only had to get rid of Aisiku.

Kenshin sighed but said nothing, promising himself that he'd still try to find a way to resolve this peacefully.

"There are four of us," began Aoshi, only to be cut off by Kaoru.

"Hey! I'm going too! That's five of us." she said, gripping her bokken.

"No Kaoru-dono, I don't want you to go anywhere _near_ that house. Its dangerous, and you could get hurt." Said Kenshin.

"Kenshin Himura, you are not leaving me out of this. You could get hurt too!" she cried in retaliation.

"Hey, if Kaoru's going then so am I." Said Yahiko from the doorway, his shinai already strapped to his back.

"No Yahiko, you're not." Said Kaoru, fixing her student with a stern glare.

"Don't be stupid, neither of you are going. You'd both be distractions, for all of us." (Except Saitou, who couldn't care less.) Said Misao, arms crossed over her narrow chest.

"Kaoru-dono, I think you should stay with Yahiko, and that you should not be here at the dojo. They have been watching us, and they know that we live here. I would feel much better if I knew you were staying somewhere safer. Megumi's clinic perhaps, or the Akabeko."

"What? Kenshin, that's not fair! We can help too!" Yahiko exclaimed in indignation.

"I don't doubt that Yahiko, but I will not be able to fully concentrate on the battle to come if you are there for me to worry about." Kenshin said gently.

"Man." Whined Yahiko, grumbling about how he'd get stronger and then Kenshin wouldn't have to worry about him at all. He'd be so very manly.

The redhead just smiled at him. Kaoru watched him with watery eyes, forcing herself not to cry. He'd come back; she knew he would, just like he always did. She believed in him, no matter what. With a shaky smile she nodded her head, and consented.

"Alright Kenshin. You win. Yahiko and I will go to Megumi's clinic while you're away."

"Thank you, Kaoru-dono." The ex-hitokiri replied, touching her hand briefly, a gentle smile on his face. He knew exactly how much it cost his Kaoru-dono to say that. She blushed a little and smiled bravely back at him.

"Are you finished now?" asked Saitou gruffly, pushing his empty soba bowl away from him on the table and motioning to Aoshi to continue when he got embarrassed nods.

"There are four of us," Aoshi said again, showing no indication that he'd ever been interrupted at all.

"And under normal circumstances, I'd say that we should split up and attack from different angles. However, due to the nature of our enemy, we won't be able to hold our own against them one-on-one."

"I agree, I don't think this will be like Shishio's challenge with a single fighter in each room. We should stay together and try to isolate individuals." Said Kenshin, his arms crossed over his lap, one hand resting idly on the hilt of the silver katana.

"Ok then, we stick together." Said Misao. "But should be try to sneak in or launch a frontal assault?"

"Sneaking in won't work Itachi-musume. The foxes will smell us before we get within ten feet of the place." Scoffed Saitou, as if it should have been obvious.

"Our last frontal assault didn't quite work either Saitou." Said Kenshin reproachfully.

"True, but we were walking in blind that time. Now we know what to expect." The wolf replied, the picture of smug confidence.

"If it is at all possible, I'd like you all to keep an eye out for Sano. Something just isn't right with him. It's like he's become a different person." Said Kenshin.

Saitou frowned, a contemplative look his subordinates had come to fear on his face.

"Becoming a vampire doesn't change your personality. There have been some cases where a person will be turned and be driven insane by it. But that's a flaw already present in the person's character. The very, very old vampires are often insane due their unnaturally long lives. The rooster has only been dead, what? A week now? He should be the same, just…undead."

"We'll keep an eye out for him." Assured Aoshi.

The residents and visitors of the Kamiya dojo had a quick lunch, Kenshin and Misao's cooking, before sending Kaoru and Yahiko to see Megumi at the clinic. Just before they parted ways, Kenshin took Kaoru aside by the hand and asked her softly not to worry about him. She nodded and hugged him hard before letting him go and running back towards Yahiko.

The redhead smiled after her and went to join the wolf and the ninjas. With one final glance at the two retreating figures of Kaoru and Yahiko, the four warriors quietly made their way towards Ruffian Row, and the house of their enemy.

End part 9

**Author's notes**: My brother read this fic and asked why I didn't mention crosses or holy water. At this point in Japanese history, Christianity has been introduced and in some places taken root, but the religion is still fairly new. Japanese werewolves and the few Japanese vampires wouldn't know about the damage a cross and holy water can do to a vamp. The European vamps know, but they aren't about to tell their enemies and they wouldn't have any holy vampire-slaying kits lying around either.

Vampire History and Culture 101 

According to the Anita Blake series the seven members of the vampire council took turns sending the vampires of their unique line out to populate the world. This is why the first accounts of vampire sighting tell of bloated and rotting corpses that look more dead than alive, and why more recent accounts of vampires paint them as sex objects, beautiful and deadly.

Isaac is descended from Bella Morte's (Beautiful Death's) line and is an incubus. He and his kiss are originally English vampires that Bella sent to Japan.


	10. The Attack

Bloody Kisses 

By: Lazeralk

I don't own the Kenshin-gumi, but the various vamps and foxes I do own, though not the people they are based on. I don't like the people they are based on, so I'm going to butcher them as messily as possible. The characters, not the people. Really. I don't own the Fantastic Four either.

Part 10

"The Attack"

**Reviewer responses**. (In general, meaning to everyone, I'd like to say 'SQUEEE!' and Thank you. Sorry for the lack of update…but I uh, met this guy see…and well, yeah. I really like him and…uh, I don't have much time to write now. Sorry, but don't be mad at him cuz he's uber cool and spiffy and pretty and stuff. And I got a new job and started new classes and, yeah.) I'm putting all the individual reviewer responses at the bottom now.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The sun was still high in the sky when Kenshin, Saitou, Aoshi and Misao (Who will be known, from this point on, as the Fantastic Four tm.) reached the house. From the outside, it looked ordinary enough, but still gave the smallest member of their group, surprisingly Misao, chills.

"So we just go in?" she asked uncertainly, her hands already full of kunai.

"Basically, but if you want me to spell it out for you…" said Saitou when she glared at him. He just smirked wolfishly at her and drew his katana. Following his lead, Aoshi slipped his twin blades from their sheaths soundlessly. Kenshin looked at the katana at his side, but didn't draw it.

"Ne, Saitou, maybe we should just see if the door is unlocked this time around." Suggested Kenshin.

The wolf glowered at him but slid the door open with the tip of his blade and peeked in. The halls were empty. They four entered with all the stealth of trained professionals, their bodies in defensive crouches as they moved. They went from room to room, only to discover that each was as empty as the last.

"I don't get it. There isn't anyone here." Whispered Misao, her kunai held loosely in front of her body, ready to be thrown at a moments notice.

They rummaged through the rooms until they came upon the east wing, and slowly picked their way into the unnatural darkness. The sun was not yet set, but on a steady decline.

The Fantastic Four (tm), senses straining to detect the slightest presence, glanced warily at each other as they came to a door. Kenshin rested his hand on his un-drawn sword, scowling at the floor as Saitou pushed the wooden door open as slowly and soundlessly as possible. A neat row of coffins sat on raised altars, all firmly shut save one. The farthest one from the door lay open and empty, the inside lines with pale blue silk.

"Creepy." Whispered Misao as she moved towards the one closest to her. She tucked her kunai into her sash and glanced at Aoshi. Once she was sure he was covering her she carefully undid the latches on the side of the coffin and pried open the lid.

The body of a dead woman gazed up at her with sightless eyes and Misao dropped the lid in shock. Saitou caught it before it could crash into the side of the alter and glared at her. Misao took a deep breath to steady herself and glanced apologetically at the wolf.

Keeping his frown, the ex-Shinsengumi captain moved to the next coffin and pried open the lid, glancing at the face of the dead man inside before moving on to the next.

He popped the lid off the coffin and paused, staring at the corpse within. He sighed quietly and prodded the pouting Battousai with his ki. Kenshin looked up, meeting the wolf's eyes inquiringly. Saitou motioned him over and hid his smirk when the red head gasped.

Sano lay unmoving and pale in the box, his eyes closed in deceptive peace.

"It's Sano." He said dumbly, almost reaching out to touch his friend before Misao screamed.

The woman in the first coffin was sitting up, her hands clutching at the ninja girl's arm, her eyes staring blankly ahead. Aoshi was trying to pry the woman's fingers open while Misao tugged desperately at her arm, her eyes wide with panic. Saitou growled and lunged forward with his blade, cleanly severing the woman's wrist in half.

Misao stopped screaming abruptly and slipped the tip of a kunai under the fingers still tightly holding her arm. With Aoshi's help, they managed to get the fingers loose enough for the weasel girl to slip her hand through.

"What the hell!" exclaimed Misao, rubbing her arm against her stomach while she glared at the now one-handed corpse that was still sitting upright in her coffin.

The wolf hurried to check on the other corpse and was promptly grabbed also. He frowned at the vampire and sliced his arm off at the shoulder, barely noticing when some of the blood splashed into Sano's coffin.

"This is not good, they should not be waking this early." He said.

"They don't look awake." Said Aoshi, one arm wrapped around Misao, the other holding a kodachi ready.

"I don't really understand it either." Replied the wolf, now well out of the vampire's reach.

"It's a defense mechanism. They aren't really awake." Said a new voice and they turned to see Sano sitting in his coffin, his arms wrapped around his shoulders and staring sadly at them.

"Sano?" asked Kenshin.

"Kenshin, just kill me now man. He'll come back soon and trap me again." Said the former fighter for hire.

"Sano, what are talking about? What's happening here?" asked Kenshin, warily approaching his friend.

"The Master, he just looks at me, and it's like I can't control my body anymore, I can see and hear and feel, but I can't move or talk or anything."

"So that's why…"

"Yeah, sorry man, it was my fault you got dragged into this."

"No Sano, it wasn't. They've been watching us for weeks; they picked you out as bait. There wasn't anything you could have done."

"Doesn't change what happened. Look, you guys better get out of here. He'll come back soon, and when he does, he'll kill you all." Sano began to shiver violently at the thought of his friends dead at that monster's hands.

"We're going to get you out of here Sano, just hang on ok?" said Kenshin, gently laying a hand on the tall man's arm.

"No, just go. Run Kenshin. Don't you see what they've done to me? I'm one of _them_ now. A monster. There is no saving me, but you all still have a chance." Mumbled Sano, staring at his hands and ignoring Kenshin's comforting touch.

"You know I won't leave you here." Said the red head firmly.

"Just get up Rooster-head. We don't have all day." Growled Saitou, keeping his eyes trained on the two vacant eyed corpses in the coffins next to Sano's.

"I'm stuck here Saitou, don't you see that? I can only move at night, that only reason I'm awake now is because of the blood. He'll come for me, even if I ran. I can't escape him. I can't."

"You can, if he dies, than you'd be free of him." Said Saitou.

"Help us kill him and all the others." Said Aoshi, his eyes full of dark promises. They would pay for hurting Misao.

"You think you can win against him? He's strong, and very very old. He makes you not want to fight him, just by looking at you. I don't know…" Sano gazed back at Kenshin, his eyes pleading with his friend for some small scrap of hope.

"We can win Sano. We'll need your help, but we can win. I am, after all, Himura Kenshin. Have you ever known me to loose?" the redhead asked gently, a warm smile of his face.

"No, you've never lost Kenshin, not once."

Saitou scoffed but said nothing.

"Ok, I don't know what I can do, but ok." Sano cracked his first smile for the day, hope catching fire in him and filling him up.

"Alright then, let's get you out of this coffin."

Sano hadn't even begun to climb out when a sickeningly sweet voice called out to them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Don't even think about it."

The woman who's hand Saitou had cut off was glaring at them coldly, the man who was missing his entire arm, also curtsey of the wolf, was smirking as he clutched the bleeding socket of his shoulder.

"Oh this should be fun." He said, lifting a broadsword from his coffin as he climbed out and advanced on them.

0o0o0o0o0o0

End Part 10

Vampire History and Culture 102 

Pomme de Sang – a euphemism for willing food. It's French for 'apple of blood' and is a term given to people (usually shapeshifters) that live with vampires as walking meals. In return for letting the vamps munch on them, the vampires provide for and protect them.

Reviewer Responses 

**Imalefty **– Thank you, thank you. I hope you like this one.

**GreenEyedFloozy** – Hey sweetie, I fixed it for you, you're in there now. I just fixed a few things in all my chapters so far, like they all have titles and scene break marks and stuff. I'm going to have info at the end of all my chapters from now on I think. I'm glad you like it.

Anime#1Fan – Hey again, they will attack the house, just not in a literal fashion. Remember what happened to the door the last time Saitou broke it down? More fun on the way, so keep your eyes open. 

**Azimel ** - Oh god, that rocks.I almost died laughing when I read your review. Wave the pink fabric at the Battousai, instant personality change, but no poof and ashes. Anyway, I'm happy that you liked it. On the Misao thing, I rechecked with my muse, and she said the Misao was referring to Aoshi sending the Tokyo oniwanban out. Misao may be okashira but Aoshi does a lot of the work still. Well, at least in my story he does.

RiddleStar - Hmm…Kenshin defeats vampire by throwing sutra at it…I don't think that would quite work either. If it was Sanzo…maybe I could see that. I not telling who the servant is or if there even is one at all. It couldn't possibly be Sano though; a vampire can't make another vampire into a human servant. It defeats the purpose. The servant is supposed to be the vampire's daylight eyes and ears. Epoch Everlasting - Hello again, good to hear from you. I'm happy you think everyone is in character; I strive to keep them that way. Don't you worry about Kaoru. I have everything already planned out. Kenshin wont end up with Megumi or Misao, I couldn't do that Sano and Aoshi, but I am considering pairing him with Saitou. Mibuhiro - Twitch, but ok. That was a very strange review. Keep a look out at the end of the chapters for more vamp and shifter info, I'll be tagging Vampire History and Culture notes from now on. 

**Dstar504 ** - Wow, that bad huh? Sorry you don't like Kenshin-vamp stories, sometimes they can be fun. Hmm…something's going to happen to Kenshin all right, several somethings. You just keep reading to find out!

**Cleo ** - Yay, I'm glad you feel that way, cuz this chapter was difficult to write. I just wanna jump right into the bloodshed, but alas, I must prep the scene first. I'm glad you enjoy being in my mini-cult. You don't know how much that means to me. Trust me darling; there will be much butt kicking in the future.

**Jasmine ** - Wow,I think I'm appointing you head cheerleader from now on. The Boys and Misao are certainly going to need it. I don't know what we should call ourselves…maybe I'll take a poll and see who has any good ideas.

**Miburo Kid – **Greetings my second in command. Yes, you are in a cult. We haven't come up with a name for it yet, but we're working on it. Yes, 'out' is supposed to be 'our' but I'm too lazy to go fix it right now. I'm glad you liked this chapter, and hopefully I'll be getting more out soon. Until next time my Robin-like sidekick.

**Lexi-Teniro – **Hmm…square butted anime guys…this is true. The only guy I know of who doesn't have a square butt is K from King of Fighters. About the bite, the answer is no. Only a werewolf can make another werewolf. Once you're a shapeshifter you can't be anything else, something interferes with it. That's why you can't have vampire shapeshifters unless they belong to the Queen of Nightmares, who I will explain later.

**Persephonesfolly ** - Hello and welcome to my cult. I'm glad you liked my story, It always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to see new names on my list. Thanks for the Christianity info, I'll change it later, when I'm not feeling lazy. Even so, there will be no crosses or holy water in this story.

**Zeynel – **Welcome to the cult and thanks for reviewing, it's always nice to see new names. I'm glad you liked it.


	11. The Acceptance

Bloody Kisses

By: Lazeralk

I don't own Kenshin, though I would very much like to. I do, however, own a very cute Hatake Kakashi plushy who sits next to my very handsome Sesshomaru plushy.

Part 11

"The Acceptance"

0o0o0o0o0

Saitou moved automatically, his sword coming up in a perfect arch to catch the brutally powerful swing of the vampire's sword. From that first blow, the entire room erupted into chaos.

The woman whose hand was missing laughed hysterically as she threw Aoshi into the wall with casual ease.

"The name's Rachel, babycakes, hope we can be great friends." She sneered, snapping Misao's wrist as she hurled the smaller girl across the room and into Kenshin's waiting arms.

"Misao-dono! Are you alright?" he asked as he gently set her on her feet. Aoshi had once again launched himself at the woman, kodachi flashing. Kenshin took up a guard position in front of Misao, watching as Aoshi landed hit after ineffective hit. The gaping wounds that would have felled a normal opponent sealed up moments after his blades left her flesh.

Misao cradled her broken wrist against her chest and flung a pair of kunai with her other hand. The two blades hit their mark, Rachel's neck, and the vampire was caught off guard long enough for Aoshi to sever her head from her shoulders.

Breathing hard, the former okashira sheathed his blades and glanced at the stalemate between Saitou and the other vampire, before walking over to inspect Misao's wrist.

"It doesn't hurt too much Aoshi-sama, don't worry about me." She said, her smile strained.

Aoshi ignored her and carefully set the bones and wrapped them as tightly as he dared with belt of his trench coat. She smiled up at him then screamed in horror as Kenshin was flung across the room like a rag doll and Aoshi was crushed under the weight of a coffin. Rachel had somehow re-attached her own severed head and was laughing maniacally as she bashed the tall man into the ground with her coffin.

Saitou was locked in nonstop combat with his own opponent who was gleefully trying to throw the wolf's katana from his hands. The vampire, who called himself Calvin, wielded a Scottish claymore. His swings had no skill behind them, they were brutish and unbalanced, but they carried enough power to cut a block of cold iron in half with ease. The ex-Shinsengumi knew that if he was hit even once with that blade, it was all over.

Sano grabbed a piece of broken coffin and threw it with all his new vampire strength at Rachel, hoping to draw some attention away from Aoshi's battered form. Rachel took the blow gracefully and then returned it, sending Sano crashing back into his own coffin.

Kenshin leapt into the air and twisted his body into a perfect Ryu Tsui Sen, bringing his still sheathed sword down hard onto Rachel's unprotected back. The vampire shrieked and backhanded the small redhead into a wall.

The distraction was enough for Aoshi he get back on his feet and plunge one kodachi into her heart and the other into her forehead. He ripped them out horizontally in opposite directions and backed up to shield Misao as she flung another hand full of kunai at the bloodsucker's gaping wounds.

Rachel was screaming long and loud as she stumbled backwards towards Kenshin, clawing at the kunai that her flesh was rapidly healing over. She ripped the offending metal out of her ribs and growled like an animal as she turned towards Kenshin, her face drawn back into something inhuman and monstrous. She clawed at his face; a glancing blow to the side of his head sent him careening into a wall. He pushed himself off the wood groggily, barely getting his feet underneath him when she was on him again.

He didn't even think about it, it was automatic, instinctual. He drew the blade in one smooth motion, the metal biting into her skin at her hip. She screamed in agony, and fell. She lay there, on the floor, unmoving. Blood leaked out of her wound that wouldn't heal.

Kenshin stared in horror at what he'd done, his eyes wide and unseeing as his breathing got steadily faster. His mind was in a state of utter panic, thoughts of broken vows and unnamed consequences dancing in his head. Tomoe's face flashed before his vision, sad eyes gazing at him accusingly. Something clanged in the background, but he didn't turn to see what it was. The blood was getting closer.

Misao was there then, with a hard slap across his face.

"Himura! Snap out of it! We have to get out of here! Himura!"

He just stared at her, his cheek growing red as he hyperventilated, madness creeping into his eyes. Saitou grabbed him around the waist and hauled him up over his shoulder as if he weighted nothing. Misao helped Aoshi limp out of the room, her arm wrapped securely around his waist. Sano made to follow them but a slowly recovering Rachel dragged him back down. He bit his lips to keep from calling out, knowing he couldn't leave the house with his friends, no matter how much he wanted to. 

It was better this way, he told himself, even as Rachel sunk her fangs into the small of his back and broke several bones in his legs.

Kenshin, Saitou, Aoshi and Misao never once looked back. They rushed out of the room and down the empty halls towards the dusk and the cooling air.

They kept up a steady jog with Saitou in the lead, Kenshin still clinging to his shoulder like a frightened child. His eyes were blank with horror. The foursome made their way back into the lights of the city and ducked into the Oniwanban Tokyo branch headquarters to rest. Once they'd caught their breath, they'd head for the clinic to get patched up.

Saitou set the little redhead down on the tatami and forced his chin up.

"Look at me." He hissed, kneeling down in front of his rival.

"Battousai! Look at me." He barked, catching Kenshin's attention.

"Saitou?"

"What the hell is the matter with you Battousai?"

Kenshin moaned painfully and slumped forward, his forehead resting on Saitou's shoulder.

"I broke my vow." He whispered fearfully, as if saying it out loud would make it more real.

"No, Battousai. She was already dead. All vampires are already dead, that's what it means to be a vampire. Besides, you didn't really kill her. Silver will force a vampire to heal almost human slow, but she can't die of blood loss or anything stupid like that." The wolf whispered back, not really sure why he was whispering but deciding to humor the ex-hitokiri.

"I didn't want- I never meant to. How can I…? What will she-Kauru…?" he mumbled, still coming to grips with the situation.

"Battousai. Stop thinking like a wanderer for half a second and look at what happened tonight with the common sense I know your hitokiri side has in there somewhere." Said Saitou quietly, but firmly.

Kenshin was silent for a moment, still resting against Saitou's shoulder while Aoshi and Misao looked on curiously and nursed their aching bruises with ice that the Tokyo ninjas had silently provided.

Suddenly, and with great pain in his eyes, Kenshin sat up and took a shuddering breath. He looked at each of his friends in turn, studying their features intently before slowly climbing to his feet.

"I have to see Kaoru-dono." He whispered, more to himself than anyone else. Saitou sighed and stood as well, raising an eyebrow at the ninjas behind them.

The Fantastic Four ™ slowly made their way to Megumi's clinic in silence, they movements painful, but dignified. Saitou studied his rival critically before moving up along side him and glancing at his face.

"You've made a decision." He stated gruffly, pulling a cigarette out of his uniform pocket.

"I have. Kami forgive me, but I have." Kenshin answered softly, his voice betraying the defeated sorrow that his face and posture hid.

"And?" asked Saitou, lighting up.

"Kami and Kaoru forgive me. I'm going to have to kill again."

Saitou was silent for the rest of the walk to the clinic, but he stood a little straighter, and didn't look at Kenshin again.

End part 11

Reviewer Response: 

You guys realize that "Chaos Legion" is the title of a PS2 game right? My brother plays it once in a while. Wow, it's been a while huh? Sorry…erm…don't be mad at me? Please? I have excuses! Really good ones even. My classes turned out to be harder than I thought and I had all four of my wisdom teeth out and then (because of the wisdom teeth thing) I ended up with a sinus infection and bronchitis for the last month. I was actually going through some of my old stuff when I remembered that I still had to write some more of this and well, here it is. Because it is now 2:37 in the morning, I will do the individual reviewer responses next chapter ok?

Vampire History and Culture 103 

A vampire's bite - If you are human and a vamp bites you and rolls your mind (hypnotizes you) at the same time then that vamp can control you until one of three things happens. One: you become a vampire yourself, two: you get the bite purified with holy water, which burns like acid, or three: you die. When I say control, I mean that the vamp can re-hypnotize you without looking at you, or even being in the same room as you. Which means you have no control over your own body. It sucks. By the way, all these vamp history and culture things come straight out of the Anita Blake novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. GO READ THEM! They rock!


	12. The Change

Bloody Kisses

By: Lazeralk

Disclaimer: (uses the art of mime to communicate non-ownership of Rurouni Kenshin and Anita Blake concepts.)

Part 12

"The Change"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Saitou was stoically silent as he watched Megumi change the bandages on Aoshi's back. The Oniwanban ninja was still bleeding profusely from several large scrapes and lacerations. The fox doctor had frowned disapprovingly as she'd pulled fragments of a splintered coffin out of his skin, but she'd quietly cleaned and bound his wound, her lips drawn tight in a thin line the whole way through. Misao, broken wrist in a sling, was holding an ice pack to a large bruise on Aoshi's shoulder while Aoshi himself held ice packs to his upper thigh and chest.

Kenshin had gotten his bruises tended too and had pulled the raccoon girl aside. He'd spoken to her in low whispers and then gasped when she'd flung herself at him. They were still holding each other, talking softly. Saitou leaned back against the wall, an unlit cigarette between his lips. Megumi and Kaoru had both glared fiercely at him when he'd pulled it out and he'd snorted, but refrained from lighting it.

Kenshin stared at his hands, wrapped firmly around Kaoru's, and listened to her sweet voice as she told him over and over again the exact words he needed to hear.

"Even if you became a killer again, I would still be here Kenshin. I will stand by your side for as long as you will have me. I understand that your vow was important to you, and I understand why you made it. You're a good person Kenshin, with a gentle heart and an easy smile. I know that your past makes you doubt yourself and fills you with guilt for the lives you have taken. But even if you spilled an ocean of blood, you still have a pure soul. You didn't enjoy what you did, and you've done all you could to atone for it.

Kenshin, even if you spilled another ocean of blood, as long as you are still Kenshin, it's ok. I will still be here for you."

"I will be a hitokiri again." He said. He still couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"Yes, but your cause is just. Kenshin, you once said, when Jine had kidnapped me so long ago, that you would kill to protect me. If you had, I would have forgiven you Kenshin. When you must kill to protect, when there is no other option, then there is no wrong. These creatures aren't really alive even, are they? Kenshin, listen to me. Even I, who preaches a pure way of the sword and non-killing principles, even I would kill to protect those who are precious to me. If someone were threatening you, or Yahiko, or Sano, or Misao, Megumi, Tae, Tsubame, or anyone that I cared about, and there wasn't any other way…I'd do it Kenshin. I'd cry a lot after, but I'd do it."

"Kaoru…surely you wouldn't." he whispered, his eyes rising to stare at her kimono covered legs in disbelief.

"I would Kenshin. I love you all too much to give you up. Don't you see Kenshin? I was all alone for so long, and then suddenly I had friends. Because of you, Kenshin. It was because of you that people came to the dojo and stayed with us. It was you who saved me from my loneliness. I'd kill to protect you too Kenshin, to keep you safe and happy. That's what's important in life you know? That the people you love are safe and happy."

"The people you love…safe and happy." He repeated dully, though inside he clung to her words desperately. He willed her words to justify the horrible, horrible things he was about to do.

"Kenshin. Won't you please look at me?" she asked, daring to reach a few fingers forward to tilt his chin up to meet her eyes. His head moved easily when she pulled, and his heartbroken eyes searched hers for a condemnation that would never come.

"How is it that I ended up with someone like you?" he asked quietly, in awe of the serene forgiveness, the total acceptance, and the pure love he found in her eyes.

"That's easy silly. You're you." She answered with a smile.

He returned her smile, slowly, hesitantly at first, and then fully. As long as Kaoru loved him, everything would be okay. It was the truth, it had to be. This time would be different. This time, when he killed, it would be to protect the safety and happiness of the ones he loved, and it would be okay. It would all be okay.

Saitou sighed, his acute hearing had picked up every word, and he was suddenly glad to have the tanuki-girl. Getting the Battousai to accept that he'd have to kill again would have been like pulling teeth if he'd had to do it by himself. Kaoru was perfect for him, his opposite and compliment in almost every way.

He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and rolled it between his fingers as he contemplated the virtues of Kamiya Kaoru. When she wasn't being annoying and unladylike, her innocents and benevolence made her quite refreshing. She was truly pure-hearted, and it made him frown to think that he hadn't really noticed that before.

He licked his lips and stuck the cigarette back between them, whishing for a moment that he could light it, and cast a glare at the fox doctor who was wringing her hands and looking like she wanted to ask something but didn't dare to disturb the quiet that had settled over the clinic like a fog.

"Spit it out woman." He drawled, his tone very bored.

"Where is Sanosuke?"

Kenshin's head snapped up and he gave the room a quick once over. Kaoru too looked around, her eyes searching for the lanky ex-gangster.

"He was right behind us." Said Misao, her brow drawn in confusion. She shifted to a more comfortable position, her thigh resting snuggly against Aoshi's.

"He didn't make it out." Said Saitou, already smoothly accepting Sano's decision to stay behind.

"I left him there. I told him I wouldn't leave without him and I left him there." Whispered Kenshin to himself accusingly.

"Battousai. He _chose_ to stay behind. He knows he'd die if he left the house. As we proved tonight, we obviously are not ready to take them out, let alone defend against a direct attack. Besides, we have no way of protecting him during the day. We'd have to get a coffin made, or find someplace underground. If we did either of those, we'd have to have a constant guard, which probably wouldn't do much anyways considering who we're up against. In the long run, it's better that he stayed. He knows that, I know that, _you_ know that. Stop blaming yourself for his decision to save his own ass in hopes that when you come back you'll be strong enough to kill Aisiku."

"Wow Saitou, that's the longest speech I've ever heard you make." Chirped Misao, a wide smile on her face as she shifted the melting ice on Aoshi's shoulder. Megumi quickly fetched her a new pack.

The fox doctor was grim and silent as she digested the implications of Saitou's oration. Sano was still in danger then, they'd left him there, even though that's what he'd wanted, but still. She bit her lips and handed Aoshi fresh ice packs for his chest and thigh, worry beginning to eat at her composure.

The Fantastic Four ™ lapsed into silence once again, their heads full of stress over their situation. Aoshi shifted, and sat up straighter as he turned to look at the others over his undamaged shoulder.

"We need a new plan." He said bluntly.

Saitou snorted.

"Yes Shinomori. That would be prudent." He said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Would it be possible to lure them out into the open? One by one maybe?" asked Misao, he eyes darting to Saitou. The wolf gave her a long-suffering look, as if to say 'Why do _I_ always have to answer these questions?'

"That would be ideal, yes. Actually having it work though…that could be a problem." He answered.

"Is there no opportunity to ambush one by themselves?" asked Kenshin, his eyes a dull steely purple.

"Well…they have to feed sometime. It is possible, likely even, but not guaranteed, that at least one of the vampires will hunt alone. However, it is also possible that they have the foxes hunt for them and bring people back to the house in the daylight hours. If that is the case, then it is highly unlikely that any of the vampires will leave the house."

"Even if it is just the foxes…" Aoshi trailed off, letting the implications of the statement hang.

Kenshin shivered, thinking of Melu-chan with her bright colored dresses and blonde pigtails. He felt slightly sick at the thought of killing her. She was just a little girl; it was wrong. Kaoru put a gentle hand on his arm and smiled at him. He smiled back, the sick feelings gone.

"Alright, we'll see if we can track down either a fox or a vampire. Battousai, I assume you've noted the difference between normal human ki and shapeshifter ki?" asked Saitou, letting his aura flare for a moment.

"It's brighter, stronger. Melu-chan had an aura like yours. I could feel her strongly from the other side of the house. No child her age should have that kind of energy."

"Yes, shapeshifters naturally have stronger auras. We need the extra power to fuel the full transformation to beast form. That power also creates an impenetrable immune system. We cannot become sick, or be turned into vampires." Explained Saitou, nodding approvingly at the redhead.

"Alright then, it's settled." Said Aoshi.

"You should rest and let your wounds heal before you go looking for trouble." Said Megumi quietly, her voice trembling slightly as she wrapped her arms around herself and put up the bravest face she could manage.

"We will, thank you Megumi-san." Said Aoshi kindly, giving her a grateful quirking of his lips.

"Don't worry Megumi, we'll get Sano back for you ok?" said Misao as she put her ice pack down and hopped off the bed to give the older woman a one-armed hug.

"Thank you Misao-chan." She whispered into the ninja girl's hair as she returned the hug.

"We should also stick together, on the off chance that they do attack us. We barely managed to get out tonight even though we had everyone fighting their best." Said Kenshin, his hand wrapped firmly around Kaoru's.

Saitou sighed and raked a hand through his bangs.

"Aa." He said, though it looked like the word had been dragged from his throat kicking and screaming. The wolf _did not_ want to spend any more time with his rival, and said rival's chipper family, than was absolutely necessary.

Two hours later found him smoking like a chimney on the steps leading up to the dojo. He could not believe he'd allowed himself to be dragged to the Kamiya household for a slumber party. With a disgusted snort, he tossed the spent butt of his cigarette onto the gravel and made his way back to the room he'd been given.

Tomorrow night they would begin to comb the streets for any solitary vampires or foxes.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Bruises turning purple and green, The Fantastic Four ™ set out once the sun started going down. Saitou sighed and led the rag tag group of fighters into Ruffian Row, where the most likely victims would be. The vampires would take people that no one would miss, people whose neighbors wouldn't care if they never came back.

Kenshin rested his hand on the hilt of his silver katana, tremors still running through his fingers as he touched the tsuba. Kaoru's words still rang in his ears and he told himself again and again that this was necessary, that he'd gotten through the war and come out ok. He could do this too.

Even though he'd made it rain blood, he still turned out to be the kind of person that Kaoru could love, and she'd said, that even if he did it again, he would still be that person. It was the truth.

"Focus Battousai." Growled Saitou with a glance over his shoulder at the red head.

Kenshin met his eyes and let his own glimmer a cold purple, reassuring the wolf without words. Saitou nodded once and then continued into the darkness. They walked the streets for what seemed like hours, asking around for any missing people at the gambling joints and the bars. People said they'd noticed the disappearances, but no one wanted to say anything more.

They were just about to call it a night when a scream pierced the air.

The four of them skidded around a corner to find Calvin, the vampire with the claymore that Saitou had fought, drinking greedily from the neck of a young woman. The lady's bag of vegetables sprawled forgotten on the road beneath her dangling feet. Misao loosed a volley a kunai almost immediately, the small daggers digging into the vampire's shoulder and arm.

Calvin hissed at them, his face a contorted, inhuman thing. He dropped his kill and lunged at them, fingers hooked into deadly claws.

Saitou sprung immediately into action, his katana lashing out to meet the attack. Kenshin's face twisted with pain as he drew his silver katana out, just an inch and looked at the blade for the first time. His Shishou would think him an idiot for standing there, staring at the sword like a fool in the middle of a battle.

He glanced up at the fight, and watched with mild alarm as Saitou was pushed back, his sword knocked from his hand.

"Saitou!"

"Battousai!" the wolf growled back, his voice a deep rumble. The vampire was laughing as he pummeled Saitou's blocking arms.

"Battousai!" the wolf called again, his tone a prompt.

"What the hell are you waiting for! Fight!"

Kenshin's hand went immediately to the hilt of his blade but he hesitated, staring down at the half unsheathed weapon.

"I don't know if I can do this." He whispered to himself.

"Useless!" spat Saitou, throwing the vampire away from him with a great shove.

Calvin giggled hysterically, calling out mockingly.

"What's the matter Red? Cantcha kill lil' ole me? Looks like your dog is doing all the work for you!"

Kenshin glared at him and vanished. The blade flashed once and Calvin was flung into the side of a building, though he remained uncut.

"You guarded the blade with your ki." Accused Saitou, unbuttoning his uniform jacket.

"I…"Kenshin bit his lip and looked away.

The black shirt Saitou normally wore under his uniform followed the jacket to the ground, leaving him in only his pants and shoes. He kicked the shoes off next and the socks, but left the pants.

"What are you doing?" the redhead asked, eyeing his former rival curiously.

"You aren't going to run around naked again are you?"

Saitou glared at him and then turned to face Calvin, who had pulled himself out of the hole in the wall and was advancing on them.

Weaponless, Saitou flexed his fingers and growled. His aura began to pulse, the power drawing in ever-tighter circles around his body until fur began to sprout from his chest. His face began to elongate, teeth lengthening and nose turning black and shiny. His knees snapped backwards, bare feet gaining an extra joint, fur and claws.

When he was done, a half-man half-wolf stood in Saitou's place. (Wearing Saitou's pants no less.)

"Time to play for real I guess." Said Calvin, his hands curling into fists.

"Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" he mocked, before throwing himself at the half-beast with a roar.

End part 12

**Lycanthropy 101**

In the Anita Blake books, which are set in present time, Lycanthropy is classified as a terminal disease. It's a funny ole thing with lots of specific symptoms that include, but are not limited to, the following. A shapeshifter can be almost any animal native to Europe. When a person contracts Lycanthropy, they cannot become a vampire, or catch any other type of illness. They are effectively immune to everything from the common cold to AIDS. If a shifter in human from is injured, he or she can instantly heal that injury by changing. If a shifter stays in animal form too long, or changes too often, their human form will be permanently altered to look more animalistic based on their duration or rate of change.

Gods that was a long chapter. Seven whole freakin' pages, and it's all Saitou's fault. He just _had_ to change into wolf form in this part and he wouldn't let me post it in two parts, damn, pushy, spoiled sexy wolf.

**Reviewer Responses: To the Chaos Legion from your Cult Leader, Laz. **

**Miburo Kid: **Greetings my dear second in command. Good to hear from you again, don't worry, much blood and guts to follow.

**Imalefty: **Hey sweetie, I'm glad you understand. Life is a very real thing, and I'm glad that you take some time to read my story! So in light of that, this chapter is for you!

**Lexi Teniro: **Ah, the wolf questions.Ok, a werewolf is made in one (or more) of three situations. One, a werewolf bites you, two, you receive a not so dead Lycanthropy vaccine, three, you are born to a werewolf, which is only possible under special circumstances. You see, if any were-animal, accept for snakes, becomes pregnant, the possibility that the mother will miscarriage during a full moon transformation is close to 98 percent. Not good odds. Snakes can lay eggs.

**(Princess)Jasmine: **Hmm…yeah, you can be a dark cheerleader. An evil one with bunches of knives for pom-poms or something. Looks like its official too, we are the Chaos Legion. Much thanks and praise from the official naming of the Cult. I'd break a bottle of Champaign over it, but that would ruin my computer.

**Sailor2Moon: **Welcome to the Chaos Legion, it's our little cult that centers around this story or bloodsuckers in general. You are now an official member. I'm sorry I don't have buttons or cards or something, maybe I can get my members to come up with something.

**RiddleStar: **Eh…not dead…though close enough now a days. Laz is moving out! She is going to find an apartment and transfer to a new university. She has lots of work to do, but she had a free day today and decided to write for all her lovely cult members, whom she loves and adores.

**Dstar504: **Aww…you make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

**GreenEyedFloozy: **You only own Cerulean Sins? You realize that's the **11th** book in the series right? If you're only going to read one book out of the series, better make it Obsidian Butterfly. That's the one that's the most removed from the overall plot of the story. Or better yet, go read all the Anita Blake books! They are my lifeblood and my one true love.

**Cleo: **Yep, more blood coming, Kenshin is still fighting himself over the killing thing, but he'll get over it. Eventually. I hope so anyway…

**Innocent Battousai: **Erm…about that beheading thing, I think my muse took some artistic liberties with that. I was also trying to impress upon everyone how much bad news these vamps really are. Even now, our heroes don't quite understand how much trouble their in.

**To everyone I may have missed: **If I did miss you, I'm terribly sorry, I haven't really been keeping track of who I responded too in what chapter all that much, so if your name should have been up there, I do apologize and say thanks for reviewing and send lots of love and cookies.

**To Everyone in General: **

Also, whilst responding to my lovely cult members, I have come to the realization that we have no buttons or membership cards or a logo or a mascot or anything. So if anyone has any ideas, or wants to make us any of these things, please feel free to do so and don't forget to share!


	13. The Fiend

Bloody Kisses

By: Lazeralk

Disclaimer: (uses the art of mime to communicate non-ownership of Rurouni Kenshin and Anita Blake concepts.)

Part 13

"The Fiend"

0o0o0

AN: Yeah, so I'm really sorry about the whole…not up-dating thing…I uh…kinda broke up with my boy-friend and lost my best friend and had a wedding canceled and my brother in jail all at the same time. It was…not fun. Really bad actually. Really, really bad, so if my writing is a little…eh, violent, I'm really sorry.

0o0o0

Saitou met the vampires attack head on as Kenshin watched helplessly from the side. The sword was drawn, but hung limply at his side, the silver flashing invitingly as it swayed gently with the motion of his body. The redhead watched the ensuing brawl with his face twisted in worry and pain. Even now, when his friend was fighting for his life, he hesitated. Kenshin growled at himself, and lifted the katana to his eye level.

"I can do this. I already decided to do it, so just _do_ it, you baka deshi." He whispered harshly to himself as he gazed at the blade. His eyes moved back to the two combatants and he followed the battle with the same conviction he'd used during the war. He searched for an opening and found it, shifting his stance to let Saitou know what he was about to do. The wolf looked surprised, but ducked sideways and rolled a few feet away to avoid a clumsy swing of the vampire's fist.

Kenshin was there in the next instant, silver blade flashing as coldly as his eyes. The sword cut though the flesh of his target's chest and spilled blood in a crimson waterfall to the street. Calvin screamed and backed away, clutching at his chest and glaring daggers at his attacker. Kenshin shuddered once, bit his lip and then made a single quick stroke that severed head from shoulders.

"Saitou." He whispered as he shook violently, his voice pleading and his breathing becoming raged again as he stared in horror at the body.

"What?" came the wolf's response, his voice shaking also.

Kenshin turned to watch as the half beast slowly and painfully reverted back to human. He mentally lunged at the new topic it presented him. Anything at all to help him ignore the bloody, horrible thing he had just done, if only for a few moments longer.

"Why?" he asked, waving his free hand in his companion's direction.

"Once a shifter changes, they're suppose to stay in animal form for at least five or six hours. It takes a lot of power to change back as soon as I did. I need to sleep for a while."

"Oh." Said Kenshin lamely. "What about him? That other vampire, the girl, she got right back up again when Aoshi chopped her head off."

"Aoshi was using steel. You're using silver. That one won't be getting up again. Still, we should burn it to be sure. Vampires burn rather well."

Kenshin frowned and cleaned the blood off his blade with a decisive flick of his wrist. He sheathed the sword and walked quickly to the gambling joint they had just recently left. He borrowed a torch from the drunken patrons and hurried back to the wolf's side.

Saitou took the torch from the redhead's hands and tossed it on the bleeding, headless body of their enemy. The corpse burst into flames on contact and burned higher and brighter than Kenshin would have thought possible in such a short time. He kept his eyes on the fire to avoid looking at Saitou's questioning ones.

The wolf stared contemplatively at his smaller companion, an unreadable expression on his face. This was what he'd wanted, for the Battousai to kill again. But, now, looking at him, he wasn't so sure it was going to turn out the way he'd hoped it would.

It was unavoidable, Kenshin _had_ to bloody his hands again, and he accepted that fact with his usual finality. But standing there, watching the firelight shine on the silent tears that trickled down the redhead's face made a slow, gnawing guilt build in the pit of his stomach.

0o0o0

Kaoru sighed as she stared at the gate to her house, willing Kenshin to appear. A hint of dawn touched the horizon and Kenshin still wasn't home yet. Old fears of him wandering off into the night touched her for a moment before she banished them. Kenshin would come back. He would walk through the gate with Saitou any minute now and smile at her, even if he was exhausted, and say 'tadaima Kaoru-dono', just like he always did.

Yahiko was still asleep, Sano was still trapped in that awful house they had been talking about, and the two ninja's who'd joined her household were off combing the streets for a fox or a vampire to kill. As she looked around her empty yard and listened the stillness of the morning, she felt terribly alone. Jaw clenched against the familiar, horrible, feeling she clutched at her bokken and forced herself to stop fidgeting.

The minutes dragged on and she frowned at the yet unopened gate. She took a deep breath and dragged herself back into the house in a monumental show of will. She would wait; she had to, for another hour. Then she'd write Yahiko a note saying she'd gone to market to get some things for breakfast and then she'd go and find her red-headed idiot and drag him home whether he liked it or not.

Despite Kaoru's adamant decision to wait another hour, she lasted, maybe, ten minutes before she caved and bolted back into the living room to scribble the note to Yahiko. Once finished, she slammed it down on the table and practically flew out the doors and onto the streets.

0o0o0

Yahiko awoke to the slamming of the front door, and glared evilly in the direction of the noise before falling backwards and immediately passing out again.

I know, useful ain't he?

0o0o0

Sanosuke sagged into the heavy silver chains that bound him to the cold stone wall. He'd been in what passed for the dungeon for two days, bleeding what precious little blood he had left in him on to the floor. They'd stopped feeding him, and he'd experienced the whole new set of feelings that accompanied it. His body wasn't trying to warm up, but he was still so cold. The lancing pains he felt as his flesh knit itself back together was both excruciating and numbing at the same time. He was ravenously hungry, but his stomach did not ache or rumble.

"Just apologize, beg me for forgiveness and swear that you will never disobey me again, it's really not so hard, is it?" asked a voice from the darkness.

"Fuck you." The bleeding ex-gangster snarled, snapping his chains forward in a useless show of bravado.

"Now, now. What have I told you about your language?" said the voice, mildly amused.

A whip snaked out of the shadows and struck him in the center of his chest, laying his skin open yet again.

Sano glared hotly in the direction of his master but bit his tongue.

The whip came down again, striking his upper arm, and then again, at the tender skin on his inner thigh. He bowed his head and counted the strikes until he passed out from the pain several hours later. He hadn't screamed once.

Take that you bastards.

0o0o0

Kaoru was just about ready to tear her hair out in frustration. The wolf and her dumb redhead were nowhere to be found. She searched ruffian row, much to the amusement of the local drunks, and the streets that lead back towards the dojo. She'd even stopped by the dojo to see if they had returned while she was away. She'd checked at the Tokyo branch of the Oniwanbanshu and Megumi's clinic. The market was her last chance and she walked sullenly towards it, filled with a nasty mix of worry, anger and helpless fear.

She smoother her hands down the fabric of her kimono, yellow with blue waves and a green obi with red butterflies on it, a nervous gesture. She glanced down the street and squinted into the early morning light as people started opening their shops for the day. There weren't many customers out yet, so she thought it was odd when a small foreign girl carrying a large bag of vegetables ambled up to her.

"Ano, excuse me nee-san, but can you help me?" she asked in accented Japanese.

"Sure sweetie. What do you need?" asked Kaoru, not sure if she wanted the distraction or not. She kept scanning the streets in both directions hopefully, even as the girl set down her bag and tugged on her drooping kimono sleeve.

"I'm new in town and I don't know which way to go to get back home. I can't see over the top of my bag." The little girl complained as she gazed up the brunette with teary eyes.

"Where do you live?" asked Kaoru, turning her full attention to the girl, but still trying to stem the growing sense of panic that she still couldn't find Kenshin.

"I don't know what the area is called, but I think it's that way." Said the little girl as she pointed down the street.

Kaoru sighed heavily, picked up the back and held her hand out to the girl. The street was still part of the market area and she could keep searching for her wayward redhead as she walked. She frowned down at the little girl, her gentle heart not allowing her to turn away from a child in need. Still, she longed to keep searching for her dumb ex-Hitokiri.

"By the way, I'm Kaoru, what's your name sweetie?"

"I'm Melu-chan! Nice to meet you!" she chirped, looking adorably cute with her pigtails bobbing.

"Nice to meet you too Melu-chan. Did you move here from overseas?"

"Yeah, I did. From England. It's a lot different here, but Japan has some cool things!" said the child, swinging their joined hands.

"I'm glad you like it here." Said Kaoru, giving the girl a gentle smile.

"Oh look! I know that place! We're going the right way!" cried Melu-chan as she pointed to a candy shop.

A man in a plain kimono stepped out of the shop and smiled at Kaoru, flashing long canines.

"Kamiya-san, we've been waiting for you." He said.

Kaoru didn't have time to scream before the man lashed out a connected a solid blow to the side of her head. She collapsed at his feet, vegetables scattering everywhere. By the time the last tomato rolled to a stop, all three were gone from the wakening market place.

End chapter 13

**Lycanthropy** 102

Each flavor of were-animal has its own special group structure and rank names. For example: the werewolves call themselves the _lukoi, _and their leader is called Ulfric. There are special names for the second and third in command, the head bodyguards and various other positions within the pack. Usually, a lower ranking pack member must challenge a higher ranking member for a title and win a tournament style fight with official observers for it to be valid if they wish to move up with the pack. The fight for the title of Ulfric is to the death.

**AN**: Ya know what? I'm actually writing this story for a reason. Well, I mean, I'm not just writing it for the fun of writing it. I've read lots of Vampire!Kenshin fics and not a single one was ever set in the Meiji era. All of them are present times or futuristic sets, ya know? The Kenshin (as a vampire) that's portrayed in these fics is always the tragic hero type. He's still a good person, but he's come to accept that in order to survive and protect the people who are important to him, he has to be a ruthless, cold-blooded killer. He's still a nice guy, Rurouni!Kenshin type ya know? If he or his people are threatened though, Battousai!Kenshin comes right out and has a field day.

I was thinking that he couldn't have just stumbled onto a vampire and gotten turned. He'd have died of guilt and self-pity and mortification. He'd end up like Vincent Valentine from FF7, all depressed and 'I'm-a-monster-and-don't-deserve-happiness-or-life-and-should-be-locked-in-a-coffin-for-the-rest-of-eternity' ya know? So in order for him to have that kind of personality and be able to accept his darker side to the point that he can just turn it on and off, and not feel too horrible about the people he kills, stuff had to happen. He had to go through a lot of emotional breakdowns and breakthroughs to get to the point he's at.

Anyway, the point is, that when people write futuristic Vampire!Kenshin fics, they never bother to explain how he was made a vampire or why he is the way he is, so I'm doing it for them. And that, my dears, is the reason I'm writing this story.

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!! I love you. In a completely non-sexual way, I swear. Really. **

**Anyway. We have new members in the cult. Everyone, please welcome Lost-Remembrance, eyeinthesky, nannon and Xelena to the Chaos Legion. **

**As always, I'd like to say thanks and give out prizes (bribes) to my (hopefully) staunch supporters and stalkers. **

**Persephone, Imalefty, GreenEyedFloozy, cleo, (Princess) Jasmine, Miburo Kid, Lexi, RiddleStar, Dstar504, and Innocent Battousai**

**Love, plushies, and cookies to you all. Here's a new chapter for you, and yes, what you think is going to happen is totally not going to happen. Even I was shocked at what my muse has planned. **

**(And that's all I'm saying on that.) **

**Lazeralk**


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